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OFF  SANTIAGO  WITH  SAMPSON 


THE 

"Stories  of  American  History" 
Series* 

By  JAMES  OTIS, 

Author  of  "  Toby  Tyler,"  "  Jenny  Wren's  Boarding  House," 
etc.  Each  story  complete  in  one  volume  ;  with  17  original 
illustrations  by  L.  J.  Bridgman. 

Small  i2mo,  neatly  bound  in  extra  cloth,  75  cents  each. 

J.    When  Dewey  Came  to  Manila. 

2.  Off  Santiago  with  Sampson. 

Two  new  volumes  on  the  recent  Spanish-American 
War,  in  the  author's  deservedly  popular  "  Stories  of 
American  History  "  Series. 

3.  When  Israel  Putnam  Served  the  King. 

4.  The  Signal  Boys  of  >75:  A  Tale  of  the  Siege 

of  Boston. 

5.  Under   the    Liberty  Tree:    A    Story   of    the 

Boston  Massacre. 

6*    The  Boys  of  J745  at  the  Capture  of  Louisburg. 

7.  An  Island  Refuge:  Casco  Bay  in  1676. 

8.  Neal  the  Miller:  A  Son  of  Liberty. 

9.  Ezra  Jordan's  Escape  from   the    Massacre   at 

Fort  Loyall. 


Dana  Estes  &  Co.,  Publishers,  Boston. 


OFF  SANTIAGO  WITH  SAMPSON 


BY 


JAMES    OTIS 

AUTHOR  OF  "JENNY  WREN'S  BOARDING-HOUSE, 

"JERRY'S  FAMILY,"  "THE  BOYS'  REVOLT," 

"THE  BOYS  OF  1745,"  ETC. 


CllustrateU 


BOSTON 

DANA    ESTES   &    COMPANY 
1899 


Copyright,  1899 
BY  DANA  ESTES  &  COMPANY 


Colonial 

Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &  Co. 
Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  PAG& 

I.  "  KEEP  OUT"      ,  .        ...        .        ...  n 

II.  KEEP  IN  31 

III.  OFF  SANTIAGO    ....        .        .        .        ..  48 

IV.  THE  MERRIMAC  .  .       ;.        -        •.       •        •     -  •  66 
V.  THE  CHASE.        «  ...        ....  86 

VI.  TEDDY'S  DADDY  .        ...        .        .        .  105 


445512 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


THE  MARIA  TERESA  IN  FLAMES                   .  Frontispiece 

AT  THE  GATEWAY          .        .        .        .                 .  .  •       12 

TALKING  WITH  THE  LONGSHOREMAN     .        .       ...  .       17 

THE  MERRIMAC      .        .        .        .        .        .'..'••  .       22 

TEDDY  COMES  ON   BOARD  THE  MERRIMAC  .        .  .27 

SETTING  THE  HIDING-PLACE  IN  ORDER         .  .  -34 

TEDDY  DISCLOSES   HIMSELF.       ..        .        .        .  .  .       41 

THE  FLEET     .         .         .         .         .         .                 .    .  .  .       51 

'"THis  'ERE  STEAMER  Is  COIN'  TO  BE  SUNK'"  .  .       57 

THE  TEXAS     .         .         .         ...  V       •  •  •       63 

SAILORS  FROM  THE  TEXAS    .        .     '   .        .        .  .  .      68 

KEEPING  WATCH  OF  THE  BROOKLYN            ,:        .  .  .       73 

THE  SINKING  OF  THE  MERRIMAC          .        .        *  .  .       79 

THE  SUNKEN  MERRIMAC       .        .     '.  .  >       .        .  .  •       83 

TEDDY  TRIES  TO  ASSIST  THE  WOUNDED  SAILOR  .  .       90 

THE  TEXAS  IN  THE  FIGHT    .        .        .        >        .;  .  .       99 


OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH   SAMPSON. 


CHAPTER    I. 

"KEEP    OUT." 

IT  was  a  small  but  by  no  means  feeble-looking  boy  who 
stood  in  front  of  a  driveway  disclosed  by  the  opening 
of  huge  gates  which,  until  they  had  been  swung  inward, 
appeared  to  have  been  a  portion  of  the  high  fence  of 
boards. 

There  was  seemingly  no  inducement  for  a  boy  to  linger 
in  this  vicinity,  unless,  indeed,  it  might  have  been  the 
sign  posted  either  side  the  gate,  on  which  was  painted  in 
letters  rendered  conspicuous  because  of  the  vivid  colouring, 
the  forbidding  words,  "  Keep  Out." 

"  I'll  not  keep  out  'less  I'm  minded  to,  an'  him  as  can 
hold  me  this  side  the  fence  needs  to  be  spry  on  his  feet," 
the  small  boy  said,  half  to  himself,  and  with  a  gesture  of 
defiance  which  told  he  had  not  been  accustomed  to  obeying 
commands  that  might  be  evaded. 

Through  the  gateway  nothing  could  be  seen  save 
enormous  heaps  of  coal,  some  enclosed  in  pens  formed  of 

ii 


SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 


planks  as  if  to  prevent  them  from  mingling  with  the 
others,  and  between  all  a  path  or  road  of  no  more  than 
sufficient  width  to  permit  the  passage  of  a  cart.  In  the 
distance,  a  rough  building  abruptly  closed  the  view,  and 

beyond  it  the  puffing  of 
steam  and  rattle  of  iron 

imPlements  t°ld  of  life 
and  activity. 

Outside  the  fence,  it 
was  as  if  this  certain  por- 
tion of  the  city  had  been 
temporarily  deserted  ;  but 
one  could  hear  the  rumble 
of  wheels  over  the  pave- 
ments on  either  hand,  giv- 
ing token  that  thecoalyard 
was  situated  just  beyond 
the  line  of  city  traffic. 

The  boy  gazed  into  the 
uninviting-looking  place  as 
if  fascinated,  only  glanc- 
ing up  now  and  then  at 
the  signs  which  mutely 

i 

forbade  his  entrance,  and, 

as  if  unconscious  of  his  movements,  stole  slowly  nearer 
and  nearer  the  gateway  until  he  stood  directly  on  the  line 
that  separated  the  yard  from  the  sidewalk. 

"  If  I  wanted  to  go  in,  it's  more'n  a  couple  of  signs  that 
could  keep  me  out,"  he  muttered,  threateningly,  and  then, 


"KEEP   OUT."  13 

with  one  backward  glance  to  assure  himself  that  no  un- 
friendly policeman  was  watching  from  the  distance,  the 
boy  darted  forward,  taking  refuge  behind  the  nearest 
heap  of  coal,  lest  an  enemy  should  be  lurking  near  at 
hand. 

Save  for  the  hum  of  labour  everywhere  around,  he  heard 
nothing.  No  guardian  of  the  smutty  premises  appeared 
to  forbid  his  entrance,  and  after  waiting  a  full  minute  to 
make  certain  it  was  safe  to  advance  yet  farther,  he  left 
one  place  of  partial  concealment  for  the  next  in  his  pro- 
posed line  of  march. 

So  far  as  he  could  see,  there  was  no  other  guardian  of 
the  yard  save  the  two  signs  at  the  entrance,  and  the  only 
purpose  they  served  was  to  challenge  him. 

Grown  bolder  as  the  moments  passed  without  bringing 
to  light  an  enemy,  the  lad  advanced  more  rapidly  until  he 
stood,  partially  concealed  by  one  of  the  pens,  where  it  was 
possible  to  have  a  full  view  of  all  that  was  being  done  in 
this  place  to  which  the  public  were  not  supposed  to  be 
admitted. 

If  the  intruder  had  braved  the  unknown  dangers  of  the 
yard  simply  in  order  to  gratify  his  curiosity,  then  had  he 
paid  a  higher  price  than  the  view  warranted. 

The  building,  which  from  the  street  appeared  to  mark 
the  end  of  the  enclosure,  was  a  structure  wherein  puffing 
engines,  grimy  men,  long  lengths  of  moving  chains,  and 
enormous  iron  cars  or  boxes  were  sheltered  from  the  sun 
or  rain.  In  front  of  it  a  wooden  wall  extended  down 
into  the  water,  — a  pier  perhaps  it  might  be  called, —  and 


14  OFF  SANTIAGO    WITH  SAMPSON. 

at  this  pier,  held  fast  by  hemp  and  iron  cables,  lay  a 
gigantic  steamer  built  of  iron. 

The  intruder  gave  no  heed  to  the  busy  men  and 
machinery  within  the  building.  The  vessel,  so  powerful, 
but  lying  there  apparently  helpless,  enchained  his  attention 
until  he  had  made  mental  note  of  every  spar,  or  boat,  or 
cable  within  his  range  of  vision. 

Then,  suddenly,  from  somewhere  amid  the  chains,  and 
cars,  and  puffing  steam,  came  the  shrill  blast  of  a  whistle, 
and  as  if  by  magic  all  activity  ceased. 

The  engines  no  longer  breathed  with  a  heavy  clank  ; 
cars  and  chains  came  to  a  standstill,  and  men  moved 
quietly  away  here  or  there  as  if  having  no  more  interest 
in  the  hurly-burly. 

One  of  the  weary  labourers,  his  face  begrimed  with 
coal-dust  until  it  was  not  possible  to  distinguish  the  colour 
of  his  skin,  took  from  its  near-by  hiding-place  a  dinner- 
pail,  and  came- directly  toward  where  the  small  boy  was 
overlooking  the  scene. 

Within  two  yards  of  the  lad  the  dusty  man  sat  down, 
brushed  the  ends  of  his  fingers  on  his  trousers,  rather  from 
force  of  habit  than  with  any  idea  of  cleansing  them,  and 
without  further  delay  began  to  eat  his  dinner. 

The  boy  eyed  him  hungrily,  looked  around  quickly  to 
make  certain  that  there  were  no  others  dangerously  near, 
and  stepped  out  from  behind  his  screen  of  coal. 

"  You'd  better  keep  an  eye  out  for  the  watchman,"  the 
man  said,  speaking  indistinctly  because  of  the  bread  in  his 
mouth,  and  the  boy  replied,  defiantly  : 


"KEEP  our:'  15 

"  I'd  like  to  see  the  watchman  'round  here  that  I'm 
?fraid  of,  an'  besides,  he  couldn't  catch  me." 

"  What'er  you  doin'  here  ?  " 

"  Nothin'." 

"A  boy  of  your  size  has  got  no  business  to  be  loafin' 
'round  doin'  not h in'." 

"  I  might  be  eat  in'  if  I  had  a  chance ;  but  there  hasn't 
been  much  of  an  openin'  for  me  in  that  line  this  quite  a 
spell." 

"  Hungry  ?  " 

"  Give  me  a  piece  of  that  bread  an'  I'll  show  yer." 

"Don't  you  do  anything  for  a  livin'?"  the  man  asked 
passing  the  lad  a  generous  slice  from  the  loaf. 

"  Course  I  do." 

-What?" 

"  Anything  that  pays.  I've  sold  papers  some  since  the 
Spaniards  got  so  funny ;  but  it  ain't  any  great  snap,  only 
once  in  awhile  when  the  news  is  humpin'  itself.  A  feller 
gets  stuck  mighty  often,  an'  I'm  thinkin'  of  tryin'  some- 
thin'  else." 

"  Where's  your  folks  ?  " 

"  I  ain't  got  any  to  speak  of  now,  since  my  father  got 
giddy  an'  went  off  to  war." 

"  Out  for  a  soldier,  eh  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it !  He  shovels  coal  aboard  one  of  them 
big  steamers  that's  down  smashin'  the  life  out'er  Cuby, 
that's  what  he  does,  an'  he's  nobody's  slouch,  dad  ain't !  " 

"  What's  your  name  ?  " 

"  Teddy  Dunlap." 


1 6  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

"  Want  more  bread  ?  " 

The  boy  leaned  over  in  order  to  look  into  the  dinner- 
pail,  and  then  said,  promptly  : 

"I've  had  enough." 

"  Don't  think  you're  robbin'  me,  'cause  you  ain't.  I 
believe  in  feedin'  well,  an'  this  is  only  my  first  pail. 
There's  another  over  there  that  I'll  tackle  later." 

Teddy  glanced  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by  his  new 
acquaintance,  and,  seeing  a  pail  half  concealed  by  some 
loose  boards,  at  once  stretched  out  his  hand,  as  he  said  : 

"  If  you've  got  plenty,  I  don't  care  if  I  do  have  another 
piece  of  that  bread." 

"  Can't  you  earn  enough  to  keep  you  in  food  ? "  and  the 
man  gave  to  the  boy  a  most  appetising  sandwich. 

"  Say,  that's  a  dandy  !  It's  half  meat,  too  !  Them  you 
get  down-town  don't  have  more'n  the  shadow  of  a  ham 
bone  inside  the  bread !  Course  I  make  enough  to  buy 
food  ;  but  you  don't  think  I'm  blowin'  it  all  in  jest  for  a 
spread,  eh  ? " 

"  Runnin'  a  bank  ?  " 

"Well,  it's  kind'er  like  that ;  I'm  puttin'  it  all  away,  so's 
to  go  down  to  Cuby  an'  look  after  the  old  man.  He  allers 
did  need  me,  an'  I  can't  see  how  he's  been  gettin'  along 
alone." 

"Where's  your  mother?" 

"  Died  when  I  was  a  kid.  Dad  an*  me  boomed  things 
in  great  shape  till  he  got  set  on  goin'  to  war,  an'  that 
broke  it  all  up." 

"  Did  he  leave  you  behind  to  run  wild  ? " 


"KEEP   OUT."  19 

"  Not  much  he  didn't,  'cause  he  knows  I  can  take  care 
of  myself ;  but  he  allowed  to  make  money  enough  so's  we 
could  buy  a  place  out  in  the  country,  where  we'd  have  an 
imitation  farm,  an'  live  high.  Oh,  I'm  all  right,  an'  every 
time  I  catch  a  sucker  like  you  there's  jest  so  much  more 
saved  toward  goin'  down  to  Cuby.  You  see  I  never  did 
take  much  stock  in  dad's  kitin'  'round  fightin'  Spaniards, 
an'  since  he  left  it  seems  as  if  I  was  mighty  foolish  to  let 
him  go,  so  I'm  bound  to  be  where  he  is,  when  things  come 
my  way." 

"  Look  here,  Teddy,"  and  the  dust-begrimed  man 
spoke  in  a  more  kindly  tone  to  the  boy,  "  If  your 
father  is  a  coal-passer  in  the  navy,  an'  that's  what  he 
seems  to  be,  'cordin'  to  your  story,  you  couldn't  see  very 
much  of  him,  even  though  you  was  on  board  his  vessel 
all  the  time." 

"  Don't  yer  s'pose  I  know  that  ?  I  ain't  sich  a  baby 
that  I  count  on  bein'  right  under  his  nose ;  but  I'm 
goin'  to  be  somewhere  near  the  old  man  in  case  he 
needs  me." 

"  It  seems  as  if  you  might  get  down  to  Cuba  easier  than 
earnin'  the  money  to  pay  your  passage." 

"  How  ? "  and  Teddy  ceased  eating  for  the  instant  to 
look  at  this  new  friend  who  had  made  a  suggestion  which 
interested  him  more  than  anything  else  could  have  done. 

"  Why  don't  you  try  to  work  your  passage  ?  Now,  here's 
this  'ere  steamer,  loadm'  with  coal  for  the  navy  —  perhaps 
goin'  to  the  very  ship  your  father  is  on.  If  you  could  jolly 
the  captain  into  takin'  you  to  do  odd  jobs,  it  would  be  a 


20  OFF  SANTIAGO    WITH  SAMPSON. 

snap,  alongside  of  payin'  for  a  ticket  an'  trustin'  to  luck 
after  gettin'  there." 

"  Well,  say  !  That  would  be  a  great  racket  if  it  could  be 
worked !  Is  it  a  dead  sure  thing  that  the  steamer's  bound 
for  our  war-vessels  ?  " 

"That's  what,  though  it  ain't  to  be  said  that  she'll  be 
goin'  to  the  very  craft  your  father's  on.  All  I  know  is 
Uncle  Sam  has  bought  this  coal,  an'  it's  bein'  taken  out  to 
our  navy  somewhere  'round  Cuba." 

"  I  don't  reckon  any  but  them  what  enlists  can  go 
aboard  the  steamer,  an'  the  snap  can't  be  worked,  for  I've 
tried  four  times  to  get  taken  on  as  a  sailor." 

"  But  bless  your  heart,  this  'ere  craft  is  only  a  chartered 
collier." 

"A  what?" 

"  I  mean  she's  only  a  freighter  that  Uncle  Sam  has 
hired  to  carry  coal.  You  won't  find  enlisted  men  aboard 
of  her." 

"  An'  do  you  really  think  there's  a  chance  for  me  ?  " 

"  I  can't  say  as  to  that,  lad  ;  but  I'd  make  a  try  for  a 
berth  aboard  if  my  mind  was  set  on  goin'  into  that  part  of 
the  world,  which  it  ain't.  The  captain  went  below  not  ten 
minutes  before  the  noon-whistle  sounded,  an'  he's  likely 
there  this  minute." 

Teddy  gazed  inquiringly  at  this  new  acquaintance  for 
an  instant,  as  if  suspicious  that  the  man  might  be  making 
sport  of  him,  and  then  marched  resolutely  toward  the  end 
of  the  pier,  with  the  half-eaten  sandwich  almost  forgotten 
in  his  hand. 


"KEEP  OUT."  21 

After  perhaps  five  minutes  had  passed,  he  returned, 
looking  disappointed,  but  not  disheartened,  and  seating 
himself  by  the  side  of  the  owner  of  the  two  dinner-pails, 
resumed  operations  upon  the  sandwich. 

"See  the  captain?" 

"Yep." 

"  Didn't  want  a  boy,  eh  ?  " 

"  Guess  not ;  he  said  he'd  give  me  two  minutes  to  get 
out  of  the  cabin,  an'  I  thought  perhaps  I'd  better  go." 

"  Quite  natural,  lad,  quite  natural ;  I'd  done  the  same 
thing  myself.  There  couldn't  have  been  any  .very  great 
harm  worked,  though,  in  askin'  the  question." 

"  It  stirred  him  up  considerable  ;  but  I  guess  he'll  get 
-over  it  without  any  very  bad  spell,"  Teddy  said,  grimly, 
and  after  a  brief  pause,  added,  reflectively,  "  It  seems  as 
though  some  men  hated  boys ;  I've  seen  them  as  would 
take  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  kick  a  feller  if  he  stood  the 
least  little  bit  in  the  way,  an'  I  never  could  understand  it." 

"  Perhaps  there's  more'n  you  in  the  same  box ;  a 
brute's  a  brute  whether  he  be  old  or  young,  an'  age  always 
makes  'em  worse.  It's  a  pity,  though,  that  you  didn't  strike 
one  of  the  right  kind,  because  if  you're  set  on  gettin* 
down  where  the  fightin'  is  goin'  on,  this  'ere  steamer  would 
have  been  the  safest  way." 

"  Do  you  know  when  she's  likely  to  leave  ?  "  Teddy 
asked,  after  a  long  pause,  during  which  he  had  been  gazing 
intently  at  the  gilt  letters,  Merrimac,  on  the  vessel's  rail. 

"  Some  time  to-night,  I  reckon.  We've  been  workin' 
night  an'  day  at  the  loadin',  an'  it's  said  that  she'll  leave 


22 


OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 


the  dock  within  an  hour  after  the  last   scoopful  has  been 

put  aboard." 

"  How  long  will  it  take  her  to  get  there  ? " 

"  I  can't  say,  lad,   seein's  I  don't  rightly  know  where 

she's  bound ;  but   it   shouldn't  be   a  long  voyage  at  the 

worst,  for  such  as  her." 

Again  Teddy  gazed  at  the  gilt  letters  on  the  rail,  as  if 


in  them  he  saw  something  strange  or  wonderful,  and  when 
the  owner  of  the  dinner-pails  had  come  to  an  end  of  his 
meal,  the  boy  said,  abruptly  : 

"  Do  you  know  the  watchman  here  ?  " 

"  Watchman  !  I  haven't  seen  any  yet,  though  I  reckon 
likely  there  is  one  around  somewhere  ;  but  he  ain't  agi- 
tatin'  himself  with  doin'  much  watchin'." 

"Is  the  yard  open  all  the  time  ? " 


"KEEP   OUT."  23 

"  I  haven't  seen  the  gates  closed  yet  ;  but  most  likely 
that's  because  the  work  has  been  pushed  on  so  fast,  there 
hasn't  been  time  to  shut  'em.  Look  here,  lad  !  "  and  now 
the  man  sat  bolt  upright,  staring  as  intently  at  the  boy  as 
the  latter  had  at  the  gilt  letters,  "Is  it  in  your  head  to. 
stow  away  on  that  steamer  ? " 

"  Sim  Donovan  did  it  aboard  a  English  steamer,  an'  I've 
heard  it  said  he  had  a  great  time." 

"  Yes,  I  reckon  he  did,  if  the  captain  was  the  usual 
sort,"  the  dust-begrimed  man  replied,  grimly. 

"  I  could  keep  out  of  sight  a  whole  week,  if  it  was  for 
the  sake  of  comin'  across  dad,"  the  boy  added,  half  to- 
ri im  self. 

"  That's  what  you  think  now,  lad  ;  but  it  ain't  the  easy 
work  you're  countin'  on.  As  a  general  rule,  stowaways 
get  it  mighty  tough,  an'  I'd  sooner  take  my  chances  of 
swimmin',  than  to  try  any  such  plan." 

"  If  a  feller  kept  under  cover  he  couldn't  get  into  much 
trouble." 

"  But  you  can't  stay  in  hidin'  any  great  length  of  time, 
lad.  You'd  have  to  come  out  for  food  or  water  after  a 
spell." 

"  Not  if  I  took  plenty  with  me,"  Teddy  replied,  in  the 
tone  of  one  who  has  already  arrived  at  a  conclusion.  . 

"  It  looks  easy  enough  while  you're  outside ;  but  once 
shut  in  between  decks,  or  cooped  up  in  some  small  hole, 
an'  you'd  sing  a  different  tune." 

"  I  wouldn't  if  it  was  a  case  of  seem'  dad  when  we  got 
there." 


24  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

"But  that's  the  trouble,  my  boy.  You  don't  know 
where  the  steamer  is  bound.  She  might  be  runnin' 
straightaway  from  him,  an'  then  what  would  you  do  ?  " 

"You  said  she  was  goin'  to  carry  the  coal  to  our 
vessels,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  but  that  don't  mean  she'll  strike  the  very  one 
your  father  is  workin'  on." 

"I'll  take  the  chances,"  and  now  Teddy  spoke  very 
decidedly. 

For  an  instant  it  was  as  if  the  owner  of  the  two  dinner- 
pails  would  attempt  to  dissuade  him  from  the  hastily 
formed  determination,  and  then  the  man  checked  himself 
suddenly. 

"  I  like  to  see  a  boy  show  that  he's  got  some  backbone 
to  him,  an'  it  may  be  you'll  pull  out  all  right.  It'll  be  an 
experience  you'll  never  forget,  though,  an'  perhaps  it  won't 
do  any  harm." 

"  How  can  it  ?  "  Teddy  asked,  sharply. 

"  Them  as  have  tried  it  might  be  able  to  explain  more'n 
I  can ;  there's  no  call  for  me  to  spend  wind  tryin'  to  tell 
what  you  won't  listen  to,  so  I'll  hold  my  tongue.  I'm 
bound  to  say  this  much,  though,  which  is  that  you're 
certain  to  catch  it  rough  when  the  time  comes  for  showin' 
yourself." 

"  That'll  be  all  right  ;  I  can  stand  a  good  deal  for  the 
sake  of  seein'  the  old  man  once  more." 

Having  said  this,  Teddy  turned  his  head  away  as  if  no 
longer  inclined  for  conversation,  whereupon  the  owner  of 
the  two  dinner-pails  surveyed  him  admiringly. 


"KEEP  ourr  25 

"  I  wouldn't  wonder  if  you  had  considerable  sand  in  you, 
Teddy  Dunlap,"  he  said,  musingly.  "  An'  even  though 
it  seems  a  queer  thing  for  a  grown  man  to  do,  I'm  minded 
to  give  you  a  lift  along  what's  goin'  to  prove  a  mighty 
hard  road." 

11  Meanin'  that  you're  willin'  to  help  me  ?  "  the  lad  asked, 
his  face  brightening  wonderfully. 

"  It's  little  I  can  do,  an'  while  I  ought'er  turn  you  over 
to  the  police  in  order  to  prevent  your  makin'  a  fool  of 
yourself,  I'll  see  the  game  out  so  far  as  I  can.  What 
have  you  got  by  way  of  an  outfit  ? " 

"  I  don't  need  any." 

"You  must  have  food  and  water." 

"  I  ain't  broke,  an'  it  won't  be  any  great  job  to  buy  as 
much  grub  as  will  keep  me  goin'  for  a  spell." 

"  That's  the  same  as  all  stowaways  rigger,  an'  the  con- 
sequence is  that  they  have  to  show  themselves  mighty 
soon  after  the  ship  sails.  I  ain't  advisin'  you  to  try  the 
game  ;  but  if  you're  set  on  it,  I  says,  says  I,  take  all 
you'll  need  for  a  week,  an'  then  perhaps  there'll  be  a  turn 
in  affairs  that'll  help  you  out  of  a  bad  hole.  Here  are  my 
pails ;  they're  yours  an'  welcome.  Fill  'em  both  with 
water,  or  perhaps  cold  tea  would  be  best ;  buy  whatever 
will  be  most  fillin',  an'  walk  aboard  as  bold  as  a  lion  within 
the  next  hour.  Them  as  see  you  are  bound  to  think 
you're  waitin'  upon  some  of  the  workmen,  an'  not  a  word 
will  be  said.  The  hidin'  of  yourself  is  easy  enough  ;  it's 
the  comin'  out  that'll  be  rough." 

"  Say,  you're  what  I  call  a  dandy  i  "  and  Teddy  laid  his 


26  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

hand  on  the  man's  knee  approvingly.  "  I  was  mighty 
lucky  to  come  across  one  of  your  kind." 

"  I  ain't  so  certain  about  that.  Before  twenty-four 
hours  have  gone  by  you  may  be  wishin'  you'd  never  seen 
me." 

"  I'll  risk  that  part  of  it,  an'  if  you  really  mean  for  me 
to  have  the  pails,  you'll  see  me  go  aboard  the  steamer 
mighty  soon." 

"  They're  yours,  my  boy,  an'  I  only  hope  you'll  come 
out  of  the  scrape  all  right." 

"  Don't  worry  'bout  that ;  it'll  be  a  terrible  spry  captain 
that  can  make  me  cry  baby  when  I'm  headin'  toward  where 
dad  is.  Be  good  to  yourself  !  " 

Teddy  took  up  the  pails,  and  as  he  turned  to  go  out  of 
the  yard  his  new  acquaintance  asked,  solicitously  : 

"  Got  money  enough  to  buy  what'll  be  needed  ?  If  you 
haven't  there's  some  odd  change  about  my  clothes  that  — 

"  I'm  well  fixed,  an'  that's  a  fact.  Ever  since  the  idea 
came  to  me  of  huntin'  dad  up,  I've  kept  myself  in  shape 
to  leave  town  on  a  hustle.  You're  mighty  good,  just  the 
same." 

"  I'm  makin'  an  old  fool  of  myself,  that's  what  I'm 
doin',"  the  man  replied,  angrily,  and  then  turned  resolutely 
away,  muttering  to  himself,  "  It's  little  less  than  sheer 
cruelty  to  let  a  lad  like  him  stow  away  on  a  collier.  There 
ain't  one  chance  in  a  thousand  of  his  findin'  the  father  he's 
after,  an'  the  odds  are  in  favour  of  his  havin'  a  precious 
hard  time  before  gettin'  back  to  this  town." 

Then  a  whistle  sounded  as  a  warning  that  the  labourers 


IKEEP  OUT:' 


29 


must  return  to  their  tasks,  and  a  moment  later  the  build- 
ing was  alive  once  more  with  the  hum  and  whir  of  machin- 
ery, the  clanking  of  great  chains,  and  the  voices  of  men. 

One  of  the  steamer's  hatches  was  already  on  and  bat- 
tened down.  A  second  was  being  fastened  in  place,  and 
the  final  preparations  being  made  told  that  the  enormous 
hold  had  been  nearly  filled  with  the  black  fuel  needed  by 
the  war-ships. 

Every  man,  whether  a  member  of  the  vessel's  crew,  or 
one  of  the  labourers  employed  for  the  lading,  was  intent 
only  on  his  own  business,  and  among  all  that  throng  it  is 
probable  that  but  one  gave  any  heed  to  a  small  boy  who 
came  rapidly  down  through  the  yard  carrying  two  tin  pails 
in  his  hands,  and  a  large  paper  parcel  under  his  arm. 

That  single  workman,  who  was  giving  heed  to  other  than 
his  own  special  work,  nodded  in  the  most  friendly  fashion 
as  the  lad  passed  near  where  he  was  standing,  and  whis- 
pered, gruffly  : 

"  God  love  you,  lad  !  " 

The  boy  winked  gravely,  and  then,  setting  his  face  sea- 
ward, marched  boldly  up  on  the  steamer's  deck,  glancing 
neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left,  lest  it  should  be  observed 
that  he  was  not  familiar  with  his  surroundings. 

The  man,  who  a  few  moments  previous  had  been  the 
possessor  of  two  dinner-pails,  watched  carefully  as  the 
small  lad  walked  rapidly  forward,  and  only  when  the  latter 
was  lost  to  view  did  he  give  heed  to  his  own  work,  saying 
half  to  himself  as  he  took  up  the  task  once  more  : 

"  I've  half  a  mind  to  blow  on  the  boy  even  now,  for  it's 


30  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

a  cruel  shame  to  let  him  take  the  chances  of  stowin'  away 
with  but  little  hope  of  ever  findin'  his  father." 

As  if  in  pursuance  of  this  thought  he  took  a  step  for- 
ward, and  then  checked  himself,  adding,  thoughtfully  : 

"  It  would  be  more  cruel  to  stop  the  little  shaver  just 
when  he  believes  he's  workin'  his  plan  so  smooth.  Better 
let  him  go  his  own  course,  an'  trust  that  them  he  comes 
across  will  remember  the  time  when  they  were  lads." 


CHAPTER  II. 

KEEP    IN. 

DUNLAP'S  father  was  formerly  a  coal- 
passer  on  a  steam-tug,  and  many  times  had  the  lad, 
while  spending  the  day  with  his  parent,  seen  an  ocean- 
going steamer  at  close  range,  while  the  small  craft  went 
alongside  the  larger  one  for  business  purposes. 

At  such  times  the  boy  seldom  lost  an  opportunity  of 
boarding  the  big  vessel,  and  thus  it  was  that  he  had 
a  general  idea  of  where  he  might  the  most  readily  find  a 
hiding-place  this  day  when  he  was  venturing  so  much  in 
the  hope  of  meeting  his  only  relative. 

The  dinner-pails  and  the  parcel  under  his  arm  would 
have  done  much  toward  warding  off  suspicion  as  to  his 
purpose,  had  any  one  observed  him  ;  but  every  person  on 
deck,  whether  member  of  the  crew  or  temporarily  em- 
ployed to  make  the  ship  ready  for  sea,  was  so  intent  on 
his  duties  as  to  have  no  thought  for  a  lad  who  appeared 
to  be  attending  strictly  to  his  own  business. 

Even  if  any  one  aboard  had  observed  Teddy  particularly, 
the  natural  thought  would  have  been  that  he  had  come  to 
deliver  the  parcel  and  pails  to  one  of  the  workmen,  and  so 
long  as  the  boy  had  been  permitted  to  come  over  the  rail, 


32  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  he  had  due  authority  for  being 
there. 

Teddy  knew  full  well  that  his  chances  for  successfully 
stowing  away  in  the  vicinity  of  the  main  cabin,  the  engine- 
room,  or  the  deck-houses,  were  exceedingly  slight,  for  such 
places  were  visited  by  many ;  but  down  in  the  very  eyes 
of  the  ship,  where  were  located  the  quarters  for  the  seamen, 
was  more  than  one  dark,  out-of-the-way  hole  into  which  he 
could  creep  with  but  little  fear  of  being  discovered. 

Turning  his  head  neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left,  and 
moving  rapidly  as  if  it  was  his  desire  to  be  ashore  again  as 
soon  as  possible,  the  boy  went  into  the  forecastle  —  the 
sailors'  parlour. 

The  dark,  ill-ventilated  place,  filled  with  noisome  odours, 
had  at  that  moment  no  living  occupants  save  the  rats  who 
had  grown  bold  through  long  tenancy.  The  crew  were 
all  on  deck,  for  at  this  time,  when  quick  despatch  was 
necessary,  no  skulking  would  be  allowed,  and  had  Teddy's 
friend  with  the  dinner-pails  attended  to  the  arrangements, 
the  boy  could  not  have  had  a  better  opportunity. 

He  might  be  even  boisterously  noisy,  and  there  was 
little  likelihood  any  would  come  to  learn  the  cause  of  the 
uproar  until  after  the  steamer  had  left  the  coal-sheds  to 
begin  her  long  voyage  straight  toward  the  enemy's  islands. 

Being  in  a  certain  degree  aware  of  this  last  fact,  Teddy 
set  about  making  his  arrangements  for  the  ticketless  voy- 
age in  a  methodical  fashion,  there  being  no  reason  why  he 
should  allow  himself  to  be  hurried. 

The  crew  on   board  the  good   steamer  Merrimac  had 


KEEP  IN.  33 

neither  better  nor  worse  quarters  than  those  to  be  found 
on  any  other  craft  of  her  class ;  but  to  a  lad  whose  expe- 
riences of  seafaring  life  had  been  confined  to  short  excur- 
sions around  the  harbour,  this  "  sea  parlour  "  was  by  no 
means  inviting,  and  save  for  the  incentive  which  urged 
him  forward,  Teddy  Dunlap  might  have  allowed  himself 
to  become  disheartened  even  before  it  had  been  proven 
that  he  could  take  passage  secretly. 

"It  ain't  so  awful  tough,"  he  said  to  ""himself,  "an' 
daddy  will  be  all  the  more  glad  to  see  me  after  knowin' 
I've  had  a  hard  time  gettin'  to  him." 

This  last  thought  was  sufficient  to  strengthen  his  failing 
courage,  and  straightway  he  set  about  searching  for  a 
hiding-place  where  he  might  remain  concealed  until  the 
steamer  should  come  alongside  Commodore  Schley's  flag- 
ship, the  Brooklyn,  whereon  was  his  father. 

Then  —  but  there  would  be  time  enough  to  form  plans 
for  showing  himself  when  he  had  nothing  better  with 
which  to  occupy  his  attention. 

The  forecastle  was  well  filled  with  sea-chests,  bedding, 
which  as  yet  had  not  been  put  in  place,  and  such  like 
goods  as  seamen  would  naturally  bring  with  them  on  a 
reasonably  long  voyage,  therefore  Teddy  found  it  difficult 
to  judge  as  to  what  might  be  the  general  arrangements 
for  stowage  after  the  steamer  should  be  under  way ;  but 
he  had  good  reason  to  believe  it  was  necessary  to  find 
some  place  so  small  that  it  could  not  well  be  utilised  by 
the  men. 

When,  after  some  search,  he  came  upon  a  narrow,  dark, 


34  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

doorless  closet,  partially  filled  with  coils  of  rope,  bolts  of 
canvas,  and  what  appeared  to  be  a  general  assortment 
of  odds  and  ends,  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  indeed  found  that 
for  which  he  was  looking. 

There  was  little  chance  this  small  den  would  be  required 
for  other  than  what  it  was  then  used,  and  he  had  only  to 

fear  that  some  of 
the  articles  it  con- 
tained might  sud- 
denly be  needed, 
when  he  must  of  a 
necessity  be  dis- 
covered  by  whoso- 
ever  should  be  sent 
to  overhaul  the 
goods. 

"  I'll     have     to 
take  the  chances," 
Teddy  said  to  him- 
self,   having    con- 
sidered   well    this 
possibility    of    dis- 
covery.    "It  ain't  likely  they'll  want  anything  out  of  here 
till  after  the  steamer  is  at   sea,  an'  then  it'll  be  too  late 
to  send  me  ashore." 

Once  having  decided  that  this  was  to  be  his  abiding- 
place  during  the  time  he  could  remain  in  hiding  on  board 
the  Merrimac,  Teddy  set  about  making  such  bestowal  of 
the  goods  as  would  best  serve  to  his  comfort,  arguing  with 


KEEP  IN.  35 

himself  that  he  might  not  have  another  opportunity  for 
putting  the  new  quarters  into  decent  shape. 

Understanding  that  once  the  steamer  was  at  sea  she 
would  be  tossed  about  by  the  waves  until  it  might  be  diffi- 
cult for  him  to  remain  in  whatever  place  he  pleased,  the 
boy's  first  care  was  to  make  of  the  rope  and  canvas  a 
barricade  to  hold  the  remainder  of  the  goods  in  proper 
position,  and,  this  done,,  there  was  little  else  possible, 
save  to  unroll  a  bolt  of  the  sail-cloth  that  it  should  serve 
.as  a  bed. 

"It's  a  good  deal  snugger  than  I  expected,  an'  the  dark 
part  of  it  don't  count,"  he  said  to  himself,  contentedly,  as 
he  wedged  the  two  tin  pails  filled  with  water,  and  his  store 
of  provisions,  inside  the  largest  coil  of  rope.  "  When  there 
ain't  too  much  noise  I  can  hear  the  crew  talkin',  and  that'll 
help  out  big  if  a  feller  happens  to  get  lonesome.  Them 
signs  on  the  coal-yard  said  'keep  out,'  an'  I  come  in  ;  now 
I  ought'er  put  up  one  that  says  '  keep  in,'  an'  perhaps  I'll 
go  out  quicker'n  I'm  countin'  on.  Anyhow  it's  a  case  of 
keepin'  in  mighty  snug,  'less  I  want  to  run  up  against  that 
captain  once  more,  an'  I'm  thinkin'  he'd  be  an  ugly 
customer." 

Teddy  Dunlap  was  well  content.  He  believed  his  store 
of  provisions  and  water  was  sufficient  to  keep  both  hunger 
and  thirst  at  a  distance  during  such  time  as  it  might 
be  necessary  for  him  to  remain  there  in  hiding,  and  when 
the  short  term  of  imprisonment  should  come  to  an  end,  he 
would  be  with  his  father. 

What  more  could  any  twelve-year-old  boy  ask  for  ? 


36  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

It  was  while  counting  up  his  reasons  for  being  thankful 
that  the  stowaway  fell  asleep,  the  heat,  the  darkness,  and 
the  comparative  quiet  all  contributing  to  make  his  eyelids 
heavy,  and  he  was  yet  unconscious  when  two  noisy,  bus- 
tling little  tugs,  one  either  side  of  the  big  vessel,  towed  her 
down  the  harbour. 

The  voyage  had  begun,  and,  apparently,  there  was  no 
suspicion  in  the  minds  of  the  officers  that  the  Merrimac 
had  on  board  other  than  her  regularly  shipped  crew. 

When  Teddy  awakened  he  felt  comfortable  both  in  mind 
and  body ;  the  steamer  was  rising  and  falling  on  the  ocean 
swell,  but  not  to  such  a  degree  as  inconvenienced  him  in 
the  slightest,  and  the  many  odours  with  which  his  nostrils 
were  assailed  passed  almost  entirely  unnoticed. 

He  believed,  because  of  the  pounding  of  the  waves,  that 
the  Merrimac  was  rushing  through  the  waters  at  a  sharp 
pace,  and  this  supposed  fact  was  in  itself  sufficient  to 
counterbalance  any  defects  he  may  have  discovered  in  his 
hiding-place,  for  the  greater  the  speed  the  sooner  he  might 
see  his  father. 

Not  until  after  he  had  been  awake  several  moments  was 
it  possible  to  distinguish,  amid  the  varied  noises,  the  sound 
of  human  voices ;  but  he  was  finally  able  to  do  so,  and 
became  greatly  cheered  thereby. 

"Now,  this  ain't  goin'  to  be  so  bad,"  he  said  to  himself, 
contentedly.  "  I'll  know  everything  that's  goin'  on,  'cause 
it  won't  be  a  big  job  to  crawl  out  far  enough  to  hear  the 
men  talk,  an'  a  feller  couldn't  be  better  fixed,  not  if  he'd 
paid  two  prices  for  a  ticket." 


KEEP  IN,  37 

Then  the  idea  came  to  Teddy  Dunlap  that  he  was  hun- 
gry, and  he  laughed  gently  at  the  thought  that  it  was  only 
necessary  to  stretch  out  his  hand  in  order  to  satisfy  the 
desire. 

"  Talk  'bout  your  palace-cars  !  They  ain't  a  marker 
'longside  this  way  of  travellin'.  I  don't  have  to  wait  for 
any  tousled-headed  nigger  to  bring  my  order,  'cause  here 
it  is  !  " 

Straightway  the  boy  began  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  doing 
it  in  an  economical  fashion,  for  he  was  not  minded  to 
exhaust  his  supply  on  the  first  day  of  leaving  port. 

He  drank  sparingly  of  the  water,  but  yet  taking  sufficient 
to  quench  his  thirst,  and  when  the  meal  was  come  to  an 
end  lay  back  on  the  canvas  bed  luxuriously,  congratulating 
himself  again  and  again,  upon  his  determination  to  go  in 
search  of  his  father. 

The  motion  of  the  steamer  grew  more  violent ;  but 
Teddy  was  proof  against  such  rolling  as  the  Merrimac  was 
indulging  in  then. 

There  remained  the  same  buffeting  of  the  waves  which 
told  of  progress ;  told  that  the  distance  between  himself 
and  his  father  was  rapidly  being  lessened,  and  this  was 
sufficient  for  the  stowaway. 

The  plunging  of  the  steamer  was  to  Teddy  Dunlap  no 
more  than  the  violent  rocking  of  a  cradle  would  be  to  an 
infant ;  it  prevented  him  from  remaining  quiet  as  would 
have  been  pleasant,  but  did  not  drive  slumber  from  his 
eyelids. 

In  less  than  ten  minutes  after  having  partaken  of  the 


38  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

meal  he  was  again  wrapped  in  slumber,  and  during  a 
full  twenty-four  hours  he  alternately  slept  and  ate ;  but 
at  the  end  of  that  time  was  more  than  ready  for  a  change 
of  programme. 

Then  it  was  that  his  eyes  refused  to  close ;  the  folds  of 
canvas,  which  at  first  had  seemed  as  soft  as  any  fellow  could 
have  asked  for,  became  hard  as  iron,  and  he  suddenly  dis- 
covered that  he  was  sore  and  lame  from  having  been  flung 
about  when  the  vessel  rolled. 

The  hardships  of  a  stowaway's  life  suddenly  became  a 
reality,  and  instead  of  congratulating  himself  upon  being 
on  board  the  Merrimac,  he  began  to  speculate  upon  the 
probable  length  of  the  voyage. 

He  hungered  to  hear  the  voices  of  the  men  more 
distinctly,  and  spent  full  two  hours  gently  moving  the 
dunnage  around  so  that  he  might  crawl  out  near  the 
entrance  to  this  seeming  cave. 

When  he  had  gotten  so  far  into  the  forecastle  that  no 
more  than  two  coils  of  rope  hid  him  from  view  of  the 
watch  below,  and  understood  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
advance  any  farther,  he  learned  that  it  was  impossible  to 
hear  any  more  than  such  words  as  were  spoken  in  the 
loudest  tone.  There  was  little  hope  of  being  able  to 
realise  what  might  be  going  on  around  him  by  such 
means. 

Then  came  a  most  dismal  twenty-four  hours,  when 
the  Merrimac,  met  full  in  the  teeth  by  a  gale  of  wind, 
staggered,  plunged,  and  rolled  her  way  along,  every  wave 
striking  the  iron  hull  with  a  force  that  caused  Teddy  to 


KEEP  IN.  39 

wince,  and  then  came  that  deathly  sickness  which  those 
who  sail  upon  the  sea  are  sometimes  forced  to  endure. 

There  were  many  hours  when  the  stowaway  believed 
the  steamer  was  about  to  go  to  the  bottom,  and  he  fancied 
death  was  the  only  relief  from  his  agony.  He  even  ceased 
to  think  of  his  father,  and  considered  no  person  save  him- 
self, wondering  why  he  had  been  so  foolish  as  to  believe 
it  might  be  wise  to  search  for  Commodore  Schley's 
flag-ship. 

More  than  once  while  the  malady  had  a  firm  hold  upon 
him,  did  he  decide  to  throw  himself  upon  the  mercy  of 
whosoever  might  chance  to  be  in  view  when  he  emerged 
from  the  hiding-place,  and  perhaps  if  the  sickness  had 
been  less  severe,  his  adventures  would  have  ended  as  do 
the  greater  number  of  such  exploits. 

Once  having  recovered,  however,  his  heart  became 
braver,  even  though  he  learned  that  nearly  all  the  water 
had  been  spilled  while  the  steamer  was  tossing  about  so 
wildly,  and  his  store  of  provisions,  which  had  seemed  so 
large  when  he  came  on  board,  was  nearly  exhausted. 

After  this  the  hours  passed  more  slowly,  and  each 
moment  the  imprisonment  seemed  more  irksome. 

It  was  only  with  difficulty  he  could  force  himself  to 
remain  screened  from  view,  and  more  than  once  did  he 
venture  dangerously  near  the  entrance  to  his  floating 
cave  in  the  hope  of  seeing  a  human  face,  but  yet  he 
kept  his  secret  forty-eight  hours  longer,  when  the  pro- 
visions, as  well  as  the  water,  had  come  to  an  end. 

He  had  ceased  to  speculate  upon  the  meeting  with  his 


40  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

father,  but  thought  only  of  how  long  he  could  endure  the 
pangs  of  hunger  and  thirst,  and  even  the  fear  of  the  com- 
mander's possible  brutality  faded  away  as  he  dwelt  upon 
the  pleasure  of  having  sufficient  to  eat  and  drink. 

And  finally,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the  moment 
arrived  when  he  could  no  longer  hold  his  courage  against 
the  suffering,  and  he  made  preparations  to  discover 
himself. 

How  long  he  had  been  cooped  up  in  that  narrow  place 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  so  much  as  guess ;  he  did  not 
try  to  compute  the  number  of  hours  that  had  elapsed 
since  he  last  tasted  food  or  water ;  there  was  only  in  his 
mind  an  intense  desire  to  receive  the  punishment  for 
having  stowed  away,  in  order  that  he  might  the  sooner 
satisfy  the  cravings  of  his  stomach. 

"  It's  no  use  to  hold  on  any  longer ;  the  voyage  ain't 
comin'  to  an  end  for  weeks  an'  weeks,  an'  I'll  be  dead  in 
another  day  if  I  don't  have  somethin'  to  eat.  I'll  go  out 
this  minute,  an'  take  whatever  they  give  me  in  the"  way 
of  a  floggin',  for  waitin'  won't  make  things  any  better." 

Having  arrived  at  this  decision,  Teddy  Dunlap  began 
to  attack  the  cordage  which  screened  the  entrance  to  his 
retreat  as  if  each  strand  of  rope  was  a  deadly  enemy  to  be 
overcome  without  loss  of  time,  and  when  he  had  thrown 
down  the  last  obstacle  he  stood  blinking  and  winking  in 
the  not  overly  strong  light  of  the  forecastle,  confronted 
by  a  short,  round-faced  sailor,  who  surveyed  him  in 
mingled  fear  and  astonishment. 

"  Where  —  who  —  what  —  oh,    a  stowaway,   eh  ?  "    the 


KEEP  IN.  43 

little  man  cried,  after  having  expressed  on  his  glistening 
face,  in  rapid  succession,  fear,  astonishment,  and  bewilder- 
ment. "  Well,  I'll  eat  my  hat  if  I  ever  heard  of  a  lad 
stowin'  away  on  a  collier  what's  out  on  an  errand  like 
ours ! " 

"  Yes,  I'm  a  stowaway,  an'  I  don't  care  who  knows  it !  " 
Teddy  cried,  in  a  tone  of  desperation.  "  I  held  in  just  as 
long  as  any  feller  could,  an'  it  seems  as  if  I  was  next  door 
to  bein'  dead,  I'm  so  thirsty  an'  hungry !  " 

"You  won't  count  triflin'  things  like  that  after  you've 
come  face  to  face  with  the  captain,  lad,"  and  the  little  man 
appeared  as  truly  sorrowful  as  any  one  of  a  like  jolly 
countenance  ever  can,  however  saddening  the  situation. 

"  Will  he  let  in  to  me  pretty  tough  ?  " 

"  I'm  thinkin'  that  anything  else  you've  had  in  that  line 
will  seem  a  good  deal  like  a  joke,  alongside  of  what  he'll 
deal  out,  an'  that  ain't  the  worst  of  it." 

"  What  else  can  he  do  ?  "  and  Teddy  looked  up  timidly, 
absolutely  frightened  out  of  his  hunger. 

"This  'ere  is  the  next  thing  to  a  government  steamer, 
seein's  we're  on  naval  service,  an'  the  captain  is  like  to 
turn  you  over  to  the  first  cruiser  we  meet,  for  extra 
punishment.  I  don't  know  how  Uncle  Sam  treats  them 
as  stows  away  on  his  vessels,  but  I'll  go  bail  it  ain't  with 
any  very  tender  hand." 

Teddy  Dunlap  looked  around  the  forecastle,  searching 
for  some  one  to  whom  he  could  appeal,  for  he  believed 
this  jolly-looking  little  sailor  was  trying  to  play  upon  his 
fears  ;  but  the  sea-parlour  was  empty. 


44  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

If  he  had  waited  forty-eight  hours  for  an  opportune 
time  in  which  to  make  his  appearance,  he  could  not  have 
come  at  a  better  moment. 

"What's  the  use  tryin'  to  scare  a  feller  almost  to 
death  ?  "  he  asked,  piteously.  "  I've  got  to  take  the  dose, 
of  course ;  but  there's  no  need  of  your  rubbin'  it  in." 

"  I  ain't  comin'  any  game  on  you,  lad,  an'  that's  the 
solemn  truth.  While  I  never  saw  the  captain  of  this  'ere 
steamer  till  I  came  aboard,  I'll  eat  my  hat  if  he  ain't  a 
tartar  when  you  rub  his  fur  the  wrong  way,  an'  I'm  tryin' 
to  think  if  there  ain't  some  way  of  gettin'  you  out  of  the 
scrape." 

"I'd  go  back  into  my  hole  if  I  had  somethin'  to  eat  an' 
drink." 

"  Where'd  you  come  from  ?  " 

Teddy  pointed  to  his  late  place  of  concealment,  and 
the  jolly  little  man  said,  quite  cheerfully  : 

"That's  the  very  thing  for  you  to  do,  my  son.  I  don't 
want  to  see  you  abused,  an'  it'll  be  hard  lines  if  between 
us  you  can't  be  got  off  this  bloomin'  steamer  without 
everybody's  knowin'  that  you've  cheated  Uncle  Sam  out 
of  a  passage." 

"Can  you  get  me  somethin'  to  eat?"  Teddy  asked, 
imploringly. 

"  I  will  if  it  takes  every  cent  that's  comin'  to  me  in  the 
way  of  wages,  to  square  the  cook.  Tell  me  what  brought 
you  here,  sonny  ?  You  can  stand  jest  behind  this  dun- 
nage, an'  we'll  be  able  to  talk  quite  comfortable." 

That  the  little  man  would  be  a  real  friend  there  could 


KEEP  IN.  45 

be  no  doubt,  and  without  hesitation  Teddy  told  him  the 
whole  story,  neither  adding  to  nor  taking  therefrom,  and 
saying,  by  way  of  conclusion  : 

"  Of  course  it'll  be  all  right  when  I  come  across  daddy, 
for  there  ain't  no  captain  of  a  coal-steamer  who'd  dare  give 
it  to  me  very  rough  while  he  was  around." 

"An'  your  father  is  aboard  the  Brooklyn,  eh  ?  " 

"Yes;  he  shipped  as  coal-passer." 

"Well,  I  don't  rightly  know  what  he'll  be  able  to  do 
for  you  in  case  we  come  across  him,  which  is  doubtful ; 
but  from  what  I've  seen  of  skippers  since  this  war  begun, 
I'm  thinkin'  our  captain  will  swing  a  pretty  heavy  hand, 
unless  he  meets  some  other  feller  who  holds  a  bigger 
commission." 

"  You  talk  as  if  I  couldn't  find  daddy,"  Teddy  inter- 
rupted. "He's  aboard  the  flag-ship." 

"  That's  what  I  heard  you  say ;  but  it  ain't  any  proof 
we'll  come  across  him.  This  'ere  cargo  of  coal  is  goin' 
where  it's  most  needed,  an'  we  may  never  find  any  of 
Schley's  fleet." 

"  But  we're  goin'  right  where  the  war- vessels  are." 

"  See  here,  my  son,  Commodore  Schley's  fleet  ain't  the 
only  squadron  in  this  war  by  a  long  chalk,  an'  we  might 
work  at  coalin'  the  navy  from  now  till  we're  gray-headed 
without  comin'  across  him.  I'm  afraid  the  chances  of 
findin'  your  father  are  slim  ;  but  I'm  bound  to  help  you 
out'er  the  snarl  that  bloomin'  longshoreman  got  you  into, 
if  it  so  be  I  can.  Get  back  into  the  hole,  an'  I'll  see 
what  can  be  found  in  the  way  of  grub." 


46  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

Teddy,  more  disheartened  because  of  the  doubt  ex- 
pressed as  to  the  possibility  of  finding  his  father,  obeyed 
the  little  man's  order  without  remonstrance,  and  once 
alone  again,  gave  himself  up  to  the  most  disagreeable 
thoughts,  absolutely  forgetting  for  the  moment  that  he 
had  supposed  himself  on  the  verge  of  starvation  a  short 
time  previous. 

As  yet  he  had  not  absolutely  divulged  his  secret,  save 
to  the  little  sailor  who  had  promised  to  be  his  friend,  and 
it  might  be  possible  that  at  some  port  he  could  slip  on 
shore  without  the  knowledge  of  any  save  this  one  man. 

But  all  such  counted  for  nothing  at  the  moment,  in  view 
of  the  possibility  that  he  had,  perhaps,  made  the  venture 
in  vain. 

There  was  another  and  yet  more  alarming  view  to  be 
taken  of  the  situation.  He  might  be  forced  to  go  ashore 
in  a  strange  harbour,  for  it  was  hardly  within  the  range  of 
probability  that  he  could  return  in  the  Merrimac  to  the 
home  port,  and  then  there  was  the  ugly  chance  that  pos- 
sibly there  would  be  great  difficulty  in  finding  his  way 
back. 

"I've  made  the  biggest  kind  of  a  fool  of  myself!"  he 
wailed,  very  softly ;  "  but  I  won't  let  anybody  know  that 
I'm  willin'  to  agree  to  it.  When  a  feller  gets  into  a  muss 
he's  bound  to  crawl  out  of  it  an'  keep  his  upper  lip  stiff, 
else  folks  will  have  the  laugh  on  him.  It  ain't  so  certain 
but  I'd  better  go  straight  on  deck  an'  take  my  dose  ;  the 
captain  won't  be  likely  to  kill  me,  an'  the  sooner  it's  over 
the  easier  I'll  feel." 


KEEP  IN.  47 

It  is  not  certain  but  that  Teddy  Dunlap  might  have  put 
this  new  proposition  into  execution  at  once,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  coming  of  the  little  sailor,  who  said,  in  a 
cheery  tone : 

"  Here  you  are,  my  hearty,  salt  horse  an'  tea  !  I  reckon 
you  can  worry  along  on  that  for  a  spell,  an'  meanwhile  I'll 
keep  my  weather  eye  liftin'  for  you.  Things  may  not  be 
more'n  half  as  bad  as  they  look,  an'  even  that'll  be  tough 
enough." 

"I've  been  thinkin'  I'd  better  have  it  out  with  the 
captain  now,  an'  then  I  wouldn't  be  dreadin'  it." 

"  What's  the  sense  of  picklin'  a  rod  for  your  own  back 
when  you  may  run  away  from  it  ?  Hold  on  here  for  a 
spell,  an'  I'll  get  the  lay  of  the  land  before  anything 
foolish  is  done." 

"  You're  mighty  good  to  me,"  Teddy  murmured,  softly, 
as  he  took  the  hook-pot  of  tea  and  strip  of  cold  meat  from 
the  sailor's  hands.  "What's  your  name?" 

"  Bill  Jones  —  Snippey,  some  of  the  hands  call  me 
when  they  want  to  be  funny.  I  reckon  we'd  best  not  do 
any  more  chinnin',  for  the  port  watch  will  be  in  here 
precious  soon,  an'  there's  more'n  one  man  who'd  make 
life  hot  for  you  if  he  had  the  chance.  I  know  what 
sailors  are,  lad,  seein's  I've  been  one  myself,  man  an' 
boy,  these  thirty  years,  an'  their  foolin'  is  pretty  tough 
play  for  one  like  you.  Lay  low  till  I  give  the  word,  an' 
if  there  don't  seem  to  be  any  way  out  of  this  snarl  within 
the  week,  then  it'll  be  time  enough  to  let  the  old  man 
have  a  whack  at  your  hide." 


CHAPTER    III. 

OFF   SANTIAGO. 

TT  was   really   wonderful   how   changed   everything  ap- 
i    peared  to  Teddy  Dunlap  after  his  interview  with  Bill 
Jones. 

As  a  matter  of  course  there  had  been  no  enlargement 
of  his  hiding-place,  and  yet  it  seemed  as  if  he  could  move 
about  more  freely  than  before.  He  was  forced  to  remain 
in  quite  as  cramped  a  position,  but  it  no  longer  seemed 
painful. 

Although  the  sailor  had  given  him  no  encouragement 
that  he  might  succeed  in  the  task  he  had  set  himself, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  appeared  to  think  it  a  hopeless  one, 
Teddy  felt  positive  that  the  moment  was  very  near  at 
hand  when  he  would  be  clasped  once  more  in  his  father's 
arms. 

He  had  come  out  from  his  hiding-place  weak  and 
despairing,  choosing  the  most  severe  punishment  that 
could  be  inflicted  rather  than  longer  endure  the  misery 
which  had  been  his  constant  companion  during  so  many 
days,  and  now,  even  before  partaking  of  the  meat  and  tea, 
all  was  forgotten  in  the  belief  that  he  would  soon  be  with 
his  father. 

48 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  49 

It  was  as  if  some  other  boy  had  taken  Teddy  Dunlap's 
place,  and  this  second  lad  was  strong  where  the  other 
had  been  weak. 

He  made  a  hearty  meal,  rearranged  his  bed  so  that  he 
might  be  nearer  the  entrance  to  the  hiding-place  in  case 
the  sailor  found  it  necessary  to  communicate  with  him 
hurriedly,  and  then  indulged  in  more  refreshing  sleep  than 
had  visited  his  eyelids  during  the  past  forty-eight  hours. 

When  Teddy  awakened,  however,  much  of  this  new 
courage  had  vanished,  and  again  he  allowed  himself  to 
look  forward  into  the  future,  searching  for  trouble. 

He*  had  no  means  of  knowing  whether  it  was  day  or 
night,  for  the  sunlight  never  came  into  this  hole ;  but, 
because  of  the  silence  in  the  forecastle,  it  seemed  probable 
the  crew  were  on  deck. 

The  steamer  rode  on  an  even  keel,  save  for  a  sluggish 
roll  which  told  she  was  sailing  over  calm  seas,  and  the  air 
had  suddenly  grown  stifling  hot. 

Creeping  so  near  the  entrance  that  there  was  great 
danger  of  being  discovered  by  such  of  the  men  as  might 
come  that  way,  Teddy  waited  with  feverish  impatience  for 
some  word  from  Bill  Jones,  and  it  seemed  as  if  a  full  day 
must  have  passed  before  the  voice  of  the  jolly  little 
sailor  was  heard. 

"  Well,  my  hearty,  you're  in  great  luck,  an'  no  mis- 
take. I  wouldn't  have  believed  things  could  have  gone 
so  nearly  your  way,  if  I  hadn't  seen  'em  with  my  own 
eyes." 

Before    the    sailor  ceased    speaking,    Teddy  had    come 


50  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

out  from  his  hiding-place  regardless  of  possible  discovery, 
and  appeared  to  be  on  the  point  of  rushing  up  the  narrow 
companionway. 

"  Hold  on,  you  young  rascal !  Do  you  count  on 
jumpin'  right  into  the  captain's  arms  ? "  and  Bill  Jones 
seized  the  lad  by  the  shirt  collar,  pulling  him  back- 
ward with  no  gentle  force.  "Where  was  you  headin' 
for  ? " 

" Ain't  it  time  for  me  to  go  on  deck?"  Teddy  asked, 
speaking  with  difficulty  because  of  the  sailor's  firm 
clutch. 

"  Time  ?  I  reckon  not,  unless  you're  achin'  for  a  taste 
of  the  rope's  end.  Our  skipper  ain't  any  very  mild 
tempered  man  at  the  best  of  times,  an'  this  is  one  of  his 
worst  days,  for  everything  has  been  goin'  wrong  end  fore- 
most jest  when  he  wants  to  see  the  ship  in  apple-pie 
order." 

"  I  thought  you  said  somethin'  about  my  bein'  in  luck, 
an'  the  only  thing  of  the  kind  that  could  come  to  me, 
would  be  to  know  father  was  on  deck." 

"  I  don't  reckon  you'll  see  him  aboard  the  Merrimac 
for  some  time  to  come,  though  you're  nearer  to  him  this 
minute  than  I  ever  allowed  you'd  be  in  this  part  of  the 
world." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  and  Teddy  literally  trembled 
with  the  impatience  of  anticipation. 

"  Sampson's  fleet  is  dead  ahead.  His  vessels  are  the 
very  ones  we've  come  to  coal,  an'  if  that  ain't  luck  enough 
for  a  stowaway,  I'd  like  to  know  what  you  could  call  it  ?" 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  51 

"  Is  the  Brooklyn  anywhere  near  ? "  and  Teddy  did  his 
best  to  speak  calmly. 

"Dead  ahead,  I  tell  you." 

"  Will  we  run  right  alongside  of  her  ?  " 

"  I  don't  allow  you've  any  claim  to  count  on  luck  like 
that ;  but  we're  hard  by  Sampson's  fleet,  and  it'll  be 
strange  if  we  can't  find  a  chance  of  lettin'  your  father 
know  where  you  are." 

"  Find  a  chance  ?  Why,  I'll  go  right  on  deck  an'  yell 
to  him.  He's  bound  to  come  out  when  he  hears  me." 


There  was  in  this  remark  something  which  struck  Bill 
Jones  as  being  so  comical  that  he  burst  into  a  hearty 
laugh,  and  then,  realising  that  his  messmates  on  deck 
might  come  down  to  learn  the  cause  of  such  unusual 
mirth,  he  partially  checked  himself,  gurgling  and  choking 
in  the  efforts  to  suppress  his  merriment,  until  it  appeared 
that  he  was  on  the  point  of  being  strangled. 

"  Go  on  deck  an'  yell  to  him,"  he  muttered  in  the  inter- 
vals between  what  appeared  to  be  spasms.  "  Say,  lad, 
it's  precious  lucky  the  weather  is  so  hot  that  the  crew 


52  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

have  been  driven  out,  else  we'd  had  'em  all  down  on  us, 
for  I  can't  hold  in,  no  matter  how  hard  I  try.  So  you 
think  it's  only  a  case  of  goin'  on  deck  an'  yellin',  to 
bring  your  father  right  over  the  rail !  " 

"  He'd  come  if  he  heard  me,"  Teddy  replied,  sharply. 

"  I  ain't  so  certain  'bout  that,  for  coal-passers  don't 
have  the  choice  of  promenading  a  battle-ship's  deck. 
The  officers  generally  have  somethin'  to  say  about  capers 
of  that  kind.  Besides,  you  might  yell  yourself  black  in 
the  face,  even  if  the  Merrimac  was  layin'  close  alongside 
the  Brooklyn,  an'  he'd  never  be  any  the  wiser.  You  seem 
to  have  the  idee  that  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  vessels  is 
built  something  after  the  pattern  of  a  tugboat." 

"  But  I've  got  to  get  at  him  somehow,"  Teddy  said,  in 
perplexity,  the  new  and  great  joy  which  had  sprung  up  in 
his  heart  dying  away  very  suddenly. 

"  True  for  you,  lad  ;  but  it  ain't  to  be  done  in  the  way 
you're  figgerin'  on,  an',  besides,  havin'  come  along  so 
smooth  this  far,  I'm  not  countin'  on  lettin'  you  run  your 
nose  against  such  a  thistle  as  the  captain  is  like  to  be. 
It  ought'er  be  enough  that  we've  struck  into  the  very 
fleet  you  wanted  to  find,  an'  a  boy  what  can't  wait  a  spell 
after  all  the  good  fortune  you've  had,  ain't  fit  to  be  scur- 
ryin'  'round  here  huntin'  for  his  father." 

"  I'll  go  right  back  into  the  hole,  an'  wait  till  you  tell 
me  to  come  out,"  Teddy  said,  meekly,  understanding  full 
well  what  his  plight  would  be  should  this  friendly  sailor 
turn  against  him. 

"Now  you're    talkin'   sense,"   Bill  Jones  said,   approv- 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  53 

ingly.  "  I  was  countin'  on  cheerin'  you  up  a  bit,  by  tellin' 
of  where  the  Merritnac  had  fetched  up,  an'  didn't  allow  to 
set  you  off  like  a  wild  Injun.  Hot  down  here,  eh  ?  " 

"It's  kind'er  warm,  an'  that's  a  fact." 

"  So  much  the  better,  because  the  crew  will  stay  on 
deck,  an'  you'll  have  more  of  a  chance  to  move  around. 
It's  only  a  case  of  layin'  low  for  three  or  four  days,  an' 
then  we'll  see  what  your  father  can  do  toward  gettin'  you 
out." 

"  How  will  you  let  him  know  where  I  am  ?" 

"  There'll  be  plenty  of  show  for  that  if  we  come  along- 
side the  Brooklyn;  I  can  manage  to  send  him  word,  I 
reckon." 

The  conversation  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  close  by  the 
appearance  of  a  sailor's  feet  as  he  descended  from  the 
deck,  and  Bill  Jones  turned  quickly  away,  pretending  to 
be  overhauling  his  sea-chest,  while  Teddy  made  all  haste 
to  regain  his  "  hole." 

Now  it  was  that  the  stowaway  had  every  reason  to 
congratulate  himself  upon  the  fair  prospects  which  were 
his,  when  it  had  seemed  positive  that  much  trouble  would 
come  before  the  venture  was  ended,  and  yet  the  moments 
passed  more  slowly  than  at  any  time  since  he  had  volun- 
tarily become  a  prisoner. 

With  each  hour  his  impatience  increased,  until  it  was 
with  difficulty  he  could  force  himself  to  remain  in 
hiding. 

While  he  believed  his  father  was  very  far  away,  there 
appeared  good  reason  for  remaining  hidden ;  but  now, 


54  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

with  the  Brooklyn  close  at  hand,  it  seemed  as  if  he  must 
make  his  whereabouts  known  without  loss  of  time. 

Fear  as  to  what  terrible  punishment  the  captain  of  the 
Merrimac  might  inflict,  however,  kept  him  in  his  proper 
place,  and  before  many  hours  passed  Bill  Jones  brought 
him  further  intelligence. 

"The  New  York  is  to  take  on  the  first  of  the  coal,"  he 
said,  leaning  over  the  barricade  of  rope,  and  whispering 
to  the  impatient  prisoner.  "  I'm  thinkin'  we'll  get  around 
to  the  Brooklyn  before  all  the  cargo  is  gone,  an'  then  this 
game  of  hide  will  come  to  an  end  —  if  your  father  is 
a  smarter  man  than  the  average  of  us." 

The  jolly  little  sailor  had  no  time  to  say  more,  for  one 
of  the  petty  officers  interrupted  the  stolen  interview  by 
calling  loudly  for  "Bill  Jones,"  and  while  obeying  the 
summons  the  sailor  muttered  to  himself,  "  I  wish  the  boy 
was  well  clear  of  this  steamer ;  it  seems  as  if  he  was 
under  my  wing,  so  to  speak,  an'  I  can't  make  out  how 
any  man,  lower  in  rank  than  a  full-fledged  captain,  can  take 
him  aboard  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  ships." 

Fortunately  Teddy  had  no  misgivings  as  to  the  future, 
after  his  father  had  been  made  aware  of  his  whereabouts. 

He  believed  it  would  be  the  most  natural  thing  in  the 
world  for  him  to  step  on  board  the  Brooklyn  as  a  guest, 
and  the  possibility  that  a  coal-passer  might  not  be  allowed  to 
invite  his  friends  to  visit  him  never  entered  the  lad's  mind. 

Bill  Jones,  however,  was  seriously  troubled  as  to  the 
outcome  of  the  affair,  as  has  been  seen. 

He  had  promised  to  aid  the  stowaway,  as  he  would  have 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  55 

promised  to  aid  any  other  lad  in  trouble,  for  the  jolly  little 
sailor  was  one  ever  ready  to  relieve  the  distress  of  others, 
no  matter  how  great  might  be  the  cost  to  himself ;  and 
now,  having  taken  the  case  in  hand,  his  anxiety  of  mind 
was  great,  because  he  was  by  no  means  as  certain  of  his 
ability  to  carry  it  through  successfully  as  he  would  have 
Teddy  believe. 

Within  four  hours  after  the  sailor  reported  that  the 
Merrimac  would  speedily  begin  to  take  out  her  cargo, 
the  prisoner  in  the  forecastle  became  aware  that  the 
steamer  was  at  a  standstill. 

For  the  first  time  since  leaving  port  the  screw  was 
motionless,  and  the  absence  of  that  pounding  which 
marked  the  revolutions  of  the  shaft  caused  a  silence 
that  for  a  few  moments  seemed  almost  painful. 

Shortly  afterward,  when  Bill  Jones  came  to  bring  a 
fresh  supply  of  provisions  and  water,  he  reported  that  the 
New  York  was  taking  on  coal. 

"  The  other  ships  are  certain  to  need  a  supply,  an'  we're 
bound  to  come  alongside  the  Brooklyn  sooner  or  later,"  he 
said,  cheerily,  and  Teddy  replied,  with  a  sigh  : 

"  It  seems  like  a  terribly  long  while  to  wait ;  but  I  s'pose 
I  can  stand  it." 

"  I  reckon  it's  a  case  of  havin'  to,  lad,  unless  you're 
willin'  to  take  the  captain's  medicine,  an'  that's  what 
I  wouldn't  like  to  tackle." 

"  It's  as  if  I'd  been  here  a  full  month,  an'  accordin'  to 
what  you  say  I'm  mighty  lucky  if  I  have  to  stay  only  two 
or  three  days  more." 


56  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

"  You're  lucky  if  you  get  out  in  a  week,  so  don't  go  to 
countin'  the  minutes,  or  time  will  be  long  in  passin'." 

Twice  during  the  next  twenty-four  hours  did  Teddy 
have  an  opportunity  of  speaking  with  his  friend,  and 
then  he  knew  that  the  Merrimac  was  alongside  the 
Massachusetts. 

"  You  see  we're  goin'  the  rounds  of  the  fleet,  an'  it's 
only  a  question  of  the  coal  holdin'  out,  to  finally  bring  us 
to  the  Brooklyn"  Bill  Jones  said,  hurriedly,  for  there  was 
no  opportunity  of  lengthy  conversations  while  the  crew 
were  engaged  in  transferring  the  fuel. 

Another  long  time  of  waiting,  and  Bill  Jones  appeared 
at  the  entrance  to  the  hiding-place  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  excitement. 

"Somethin's  got  to  be  done  right  away,  lad,  an'  I'm 
clean. beat  as  to  how  we'll  figger  it  out.  This  'ere  steamer 
is  goin'  to  be  sunk  !  " 

"  Sunk !  "  Teddy  cried  in  alarm,  clutching  Bill  frantic- 
ally by  the  arm,  as  if  believing  the  Merrimac  was  even 
then  on  the  point  of  going  down. 

"That's  jest  it,  an'  we're  to  be  shifted  to  the  other 
vessels,  gettin'  a  berth  wherever  one  can  be  found." 

"  What  will  make  her  sink  ?  " 

"  She's  to  be  blowed  up  !  Wrecked  in  the  harbour  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  so  the  Spaniards  who  are  inside  can't 
get  out !  " 

Teddy  looked  around  him  in  bewilderment  and  alarm, 
understanding  not  one  word  of  the  brief  explanation. 

"  You  see  the  Spanish  fleet  is  inside  the  harbour,  and  the 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  59 

mouth  of  it  ain't  more'n  three  hundred  feet  wide.  This 
steamer  will  be  blowed  up  right  across  the  channel,  an' 
there  the  Spaniards  are,  bottled  up  tight  till  our  fleet  gets 
ready  to  knock  'em  into  splinters." 

"  But  what'll  become  of  me  ?  I'll  have  to  face  the 
captain  after  all !  " 

"I  reckon  there's  no  help  for  it,  lad,  because  it  don't 
stand  to  reason  that  you  want  to  go  down  with  the  ship." 

"  How  long  before  you'll  sink  her  ?  " 

"  We  sha'n't  have  anything  to  do  with  it,  lad.  It's  what 
you  might  call  a  precious  fine  job,  an'  'cordin'  to  the  way 
everybody  looks  at  it,  them  who  do  the  work  ain't  likely 
to  come  back  again." 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  Look  here,  lad,  if  you  was  goin'  on  deck  an'  set  off 
three  or  four  torpedoes  under  your  very  feet,  what  do  you 
think  would  be  the  show  of  gettin*  ashore  alive  ?  " 

Teddy  made  no  effort  to  weigh  the  chances ;  his  own 
affairs  were  in  such  a  precarious  condition  that  there  was 
no  room  in  his  mind  for  anything  else. 

"  I'd  better  have  gone  to  the  captain  when  I  first  made 
up  my  mind  that  it  had  to  be  done,  an'  it  would  be  over  by 
this  time,"  he  said,  with  a  long-drawn  sigh. 

"  It  wouldn't  have  been  over  till  you  got  ashore,  because 
pretty  nigh  every  sailor  thinks  it  his  bounden  duty  to 
make  things  lively  for  a  stowaway.  You've  saved  yourself 
from  bein'  kicked  an'  thumped  jest  so  many  days  as  I've 
been  coddlin'  you  up,  an'  there's  a  good  deal  in  that." 

"  Are  we  anywhere  near  the  Brooklyn  ?  " 


60  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

"  She  was  five  or  six  miles  away  when  I  saw  her  last  — ' 

"  Five  or  six  miles  !  " 

"  Yes  ;  did  you  allow  she  laid  within  hail  ?  " 

"  I  thought  from  what  you  said  that  we  was  right  among 
the  fleet." 

"  So  we  are,  lad  ;  but  these  big  ships  don't  huddle  very 
close  together,  an'  ten  miles  off  is  called  bein'  mighty  near 
at  hand.  I  can't  stop  here  chinnin'  much  longer,  so  listen 
sharp.  When  the  time  comes,  an'  it's  precious  near  at 
hand  now,  you'll  have  walk  up  to  the  medicine-box  like  a 
little  man,  so  kind'er  be  bracin'  yourself  for  what's  sure  to 
happen.  I'll  watch  till  the  captain  appears  to  be  in  good 
humour,  an'  out  you  pop." 

Teddy  nodded  his  head ;  there  was  too  much  sorrow 
and  disappointment  in  his  heart  to  permit  of  speech,  and 
Bill  Jones  was  so  pressed  for  time  that  he  failed  to  give 
due  heed  to  the  boy's  mental  condition. 

"Be  ready  when  I  come  back  next  time!"  the  sailor 
whispered,  warningly,  and  then  ran  on  deck,  leaving  the 
stowaway  in  a  most  unenviable  frame  of  mind. 

When  Teddy's  mouth  was  parched  with  thirst,  and  his 
stomach  craving  for  food,  he  had  brought  himself  to 
believe  that  he  could  submit  without  a  murmur  to  what- 
ever punishment  the  captain  might  see  fit  to  inflict ;  but 
now  it  seemed  different.  During  a  very  long  time  he  had 
been  cheering  himself  with  the  belief  that  before  the  close 
of  this  hour  or  the  next  he  would  be  with  his  father,  and 
such  a  sudden  and  startling  change  in  affairs  caused  him 
deepest  despair. 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  6 1 

Crawling  into  the  narrow  hiding-place,  he  gave  full  sway 
to  the  grief  which  had  come  upon  him  like  a  torrent,  for 
once  Captain  Miller  knew  of  his  having  stowed  away,  so 
he  argued  to  himself,  there  would  no  longer  be  any  hope 
of  communicating  with  his  father. 

To  his  mind  he  had  not  only  failed  in  the  purpose  set 
himself,  but  would  be  more  widely  separated  from  his 
father  than  ever  before,  and  it  is  little  wonder,  with  such 
belief  in  his  heart,  that  the  boy  ceased  longer  to  battle 
against  his  sorrow. 

He  was  lying  face  downward  upon  the  canvas  when  Bill 
Jones  came  to  announce  that  the  moment  had  arrived 
when  he  should  brave  the  ordeal  of  facing  Captain  Miller, 
and  the  sailor  was  forced  to  speak  several  times  in  a  loud 
tone  before  the  lad  realised  that  his  friend  was  near  at 
hand. 

"Come,  Teddy,"  the  little  sailor  said,  soothingly,  " it'll 
be  over  after  awhile,  an'  perhaps  won't  be  so  bad  as  we've 
figgered,  for  the  old  man  ain't  tearin'  'round  dreadful  mad. 
Let's  get  on  deck  in  a  hurry,  so's  not  to  think  about  it 
too  long,  an'  I'll  stand  right  by  your  side  till  matters  are 
settled  one  way  or  the  other." 

"  I  might  as  well  stay  right  here,  an'  be  sunk  when  the 
steamer  goes  down,"  the  boy  wailed. 

"  Nonsense,  lad  ;  after  havin'  the  pluck  to  come  thus  far 
in  search  of  your  father,  you  mustn't  lose  heart  now.  Be 
a  man,  Teddy,  an'  count  on  me  for  a  friend  so  long  as  the 
trouble  lasts." 

It  was  not  possible  for  Bill  Jones  to  arouse  the  boy  to  a 


62  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

proper  show  of  courage  until  after  fully  half  an  hour  had 
passed,  and  then  the  two  came  out  into  the  sunlight,  both 
looking  much  as  if  having  just  been  detected  in  the  most 
heinous  of  crimes. 

The  dazzling  sunlight  nearly  blinded  the  boy,  who  had 
been  shrouded  in  darkness  so  many  days,  and  forced  him 
to  cover  his  eyes ;  therefore  he  failed  to  see  the  look  of 
surprise  and  bewilderment  on  Bill  Jones's  face  immediately 
they  came  on  deck. 

During  several  moments  he  was  in  such  a  daze  as  to  be 
virtually  unconscious,  and  then  he  heard  his  companion 
ask  : 

"  Where  is  the  Merrimacs  crew  ?  " 

•'  They've  been  set  aboard  the  New  York  for  a  spell, 
seein's  how  this  ain't  likely  to  be  a  very  pleasant  craft  to 
sail  in  after  we  get  through  with  her,"  a  strange  voice 
replied,  and  Teddy  opened  his  eyes. 

The  deck  of  the  collier  appeared  to  be  thronged  with 
sailors  in  naval  costume,  all  of  whom  were  apparently 
bent  on  doing  the  greatest  amount  of  destruction  in  the 
shortest  possible  space  of  time. 

Not  far  away  to  windward  was  a  huge  war-vessel,  looking 
more  like  some  submarine  monster  than  anything  built  by 
man,  and  in  the  distance  others  of  the  same  kind,  cruising 
to  and  fro,  or  lying  quietly  upon  the  ocean,  rising  and  fall- 
ing with  the  heavy  swell. 

All  this  picture  Teddy  took  in  with  a  single  glance,  and 
then  his  attention  was  diverted  by  Bill  Jones,  who  said  to 
the  sailor  with  whom  he  had  first  spoken  : 


SANTIAGO.  63 

"  Ain't  we  to  take  our  dunnage  out  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  that'll  be  done  after  a  spell ;  but  just  now 
it's  a  case  of  hurry,  an'  what  a  few  old  shellbacks  like 
you  may  consider  dunnage,  ain't  taken  into  account." 

"  Where  is  Captain  Miller  ?  " 

"  I  saw  him  goin'  toward  the  flag-ship.  It  seems  he's 
got  the  biggest  kind  of  a  bee  in  his  bonnet  because  Lieu- 


tenant  Hobson  is  to  be  given  the  chance  of  killin'  himself 
an'  his  crew,  when  he  claims  the  right  because  of  havin' 
been  in  command  of  this  'ere  collier." 

Teddy  was  wholly  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  conversation,  and  he  looked  at  the  little  sailor,  who 
now  appeared  perplexed  rather  than  jolly,  until  the  latter 
said,  speaking  slowly,  as  if  in  a  maze  of  bewilderment  and 
doubt : 


64  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

"  I'm  all  at  sea,  lad,  about  this  'ere  business  ;  but  it 
begins  to  look  as  if  you  wouldn't  have  any  very  hard  time 
with  the  old  man  to-day.  He's  got  somethin'  else  on  his 
mind  that's  of  more  importance  than  a  worthless  little 
stowaway  like  you." 

"  He'll  comeback,  won't  he  ?  "  Teddy  asked,  yet  unable 
to  gather  any  clear  idea  of  the  situation. 

"  Unless  he  comes  soon,  there  won't  be  anything  left  of 
the  Merrimac,  an'  that's  a  fact,"  Bill  Jones  replied,  point- 
ing here  and  there  to  where  a  hundred  men  or  more  were 
busily  at  work,  seemingly  trying  to  make  a  wreck  of  the 
collier.  "  I  s'pose  they're  bent  on  gettin'  out  of  the  old 
hooker  all  that's  of  any  value,  before  sinkin'  her,  an'  it 
looks  as  if  they'd  finish  the  job  in  a  jiffy." 

"  Where's  the  Brooklyn  ?  " 

"  See  here,  my  son,  we've  no  time  to  bother  our  heads 
about  her  just  now.  It's  enough  for  you  that  we  can't 
get  speech  with  your  father,  an'  unless  I'm  way  off  my 
reckonin',  here's  the  chance  to  pull  out  of  what  promised 
to  be  a  bad  scrape  for  you." 

Teddy  remained  silent,  for  the  very  good  reason  that 
he  was  at  a  loss  for  words,  and  after  a  short  pause,  Bill 
Jones  exclaimed,  as  if  a  happy  thought  had  at  that  instant 
come  into  his  mind  : 

"  Hark  you,  lad,  our  men  have  gone  over  to  the  New 
York,  an'  so  long  as  we  don't  follow  them  it'll  be  plain 
sailin'.  We'll  watch  our  chance,  go  aboard  the  nearest 
ship,  so  it  ain't  the  admiral's  flag-ship,  as  bold  as  lions,  an' 
it'll  be  believed  that  you  belong  to  our  crew.  Unless 


OFF  SANTIAGO.  65 

Captain  Miller  shows  himself,  you'll  be  livin'  on  the  fat  of 
the  land." 

"  But  when  he  comes  ?  " 

"  We  won't  bother  our  heads  about  anything  of  the 
kind.  It's  enough  for  us  to  know  you've  slipped  out  of 
the  smallest  kind  of  a  hole  without  a  scratch,  and  we'll 
take  all  the  enjoyment  that  comes  our  way,  at  Uncle 
Sam's  expense." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    MERRIMAC. 

r  I  ^HERE  was  no  good  reason  why,  as  Bill  Jones  had 

-*-  suggested,  Teddy  could  not  successfully  pose  as  one 
of  the  Merrimacs  crew. 

The  undertaking  in  hand  was  so  important,  with  such 
great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  its  accomplishment, 
that  for  the  time  being  it  was  as  if  every  officer  and  man 
in  the  American  squadron  had  no  thought  save  concerning 
the  work  upon  the  steamer  to  be  sunk. 

That  the  situation  may  be  made  more  plain,  as  it  was 
to  Teddy  before  he  had  been  on  board  the  Texas  two 
hours,  the  following  description  of  the  daring  venture  is 
quoted  from  an  article  written  the  very  day  Bill  Jones  and 
his  protege  sought  shelter  on  the  battle-ship  : l 

"The  mines  in  the  narrow,  tortuous  channel,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  forts  and  batteries,  which  must  increase 
the  effectiveness  of  the  enemy's  fire,  and  at  the  same  time 
decrease  that  of  our  own,  reinforced  by  the  guns  of  the 
Spanish  fleet  inside,  make  the  harbour,  as  it  now  appears, 
almost  impregnable.  Unless  the  entrance  is  countermined 

1  "  The  Boys  of  '98." 
66 


THE  MERRIMAC.  6/ 

it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  to  force  its  passage  with  our 
ships. 

"  But  the  Spanish  fleet  is  bottled  up,  and  a  plan  is  being 
considered  to  drive  in  the  cork.  If  that  is  done,  the  next 
news  may  be  a  thrilling  story  of  closing  the  harbour.  It 
would  release  a  part  of  our  fleet,  and  leave  the  Spaniards 
to  starve  and  rot  until  they  were  ready  to  hoist  .the  white 
flag. 

"'To  drive  in  the  cork,'  was  the  subject  nearest  Rear- 
Admiral  Sampson's  heart,  and  he  at  once  went  into  consul- 
tation with  his  officers  as  to  how  it  could  best  be  done. 
One  plan  after  another  was  discussed  and  rejected,  and 
then  Assistant  Naval  Constructor  Richmond  Pearson 
Hobson  proposed  that  the  big  collier  Merrimac>  which 
then  had  on  board  about  six  hundred  tons  of  coal,  be 
sunk  across  the  channel  in  such  a  manner  as  to  completely 
block  it. 

"  The  plan  was  a  good  one  ;  but  yet  it  seemed  certain 
death  for  those  who  should  attempt  to  carry  it  out  as 
proposed.  Lieutenant  Hobson,  however,  claimed  that,  if 
the  scheme  was  accepted,  he  should  by  right  be  allowed 
to  take  command  of  the  enterprise. 

"The  end  to  be  attained  was  so  great  that  Admiral 
Sampson  decided  that  the  lives  of  six  or  seven  men  could 
not  be  allowed  to  outweigh  the  advantage  to  be  gained, 
and  Lieutenant  Hobson  was  notified  that  his  services 
were  accepted ;  the  big  steamer  was  at  his  disposal  to  do 
with  as  he  saw  fit." 

This  was  the  work  which  had  been  begun  when  Bill 


68 


OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 


Jones  brought  Teddy  Dunlap  on  deck  that  he  might 
confess  to  being  a  stowaway,  and  it  is  little  wonder  that 
matters  on  board  the  collier  were  in  seeming  confusion. 

On  the  night  previous  Lieutenant  Hobson  had  received 
the  notification  that  his  services  were  accepted,  and  at  an 
early  hour  next  morning  the  work  of  making  the  Merrimac 
ready  for  destruction  had  begun. 

A  dozen  boys  would  have  attracted  no  attention  just 
then,  and  the  lad,  who  had  mentally  nerved  himself  to 
meet  the  captain  of  the  steamer,  failed  in  finding  any  one 

to  hear  his  con- 
fession. 

Bill  Jones, 
however,  was 
quick  to  see  the 
possible  advan- 
tage to  be  gained, 
and  Teddy  had 
not  fully  recovered  from  his  bewilderment  before  the 
little  sailor  was  forcing  him  over  the  rail  into  one  of  the 
Texas 's  boats,  which  had  just  come  alongside. 

"  Turned  out  of  house  an'  home,  eh  ? "  one  of  the 
sailors  asked,  with  a  laugh,  and  there  was  no  question  but 
that  the  boy,  as  well  as  the  man,  had  a  right  to  be  taken 
aboard  the  battle-ship. 

The  officers  had  all  left  the  boat,  therefore  the  two  were 
not  subjected  to  any  searching  examination,  and  once  on 
board  the  big  vessel,  it  was  supposed,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
that  they  had  been  regularly  detailed  to  that  ship. 


THE   MERRIMAC.  69 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  these  two  who  had  but  just 
come  from  the  Merrimac  knew  less  regarding  her  proposed 
ending  than  any  other,  and,  therefore,  were  most  deeply 
interested  in  such  information  as  was  to  be  picked  up 
from  the  crew. 

Before  having  been  on  board  an  hour  they  knew  as 
much  as  has  been  set  down  at  the  beginning  of  this  chap- 
ter, and,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  they,  like  all  around 
them,  had  little  thought  save  for  the  daring  adventure 
which  was  to  be  made  by  Lieutenant  Hobson  and  six  men. 

"It's  a  mighty  brave  thing  to  do,"  Bill  Jones  said  con- 
fidentially to  Teddy  as  the  two  were  on  the  gun-deck, 
having  concluded  a  most  satisfactory  repast  ;  "  but  I 
wouldn't  want  a  hand  in  it." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  Teddy  asked,  in  surprise,  for  he  had  been 
turning  the  matter  over  in  his  mind  until  having  come 
almost  to  envy  those  who  were  to  brave  death  in  the 
service  of  their  country. 

"  Because  I  ain't  what  might  rightly  be  called  a  fightin' 
man  ;  owin'  to  my  bein'  undersized,  most  likely.  I  take 
real  pride  in  the  deeds  of  others,  but  can't  seem  to  get 
my  own  courage  where  it  belongs.  I'm  only  what  you 
might  call  a  plain,  every-day  sailor,  with  no  fightin'  timber 
in  me,  else  I'd  been  in  the  navy  long  before  this." 

"Do  you  think  they  will  live  to  sink  the  Merrimac?" 
Teddy  asked,  thoughtfully. 

"There's  no  doubt  in  my  mind  but  that  they'll  hold  on 
to  life  long  enough  to  do  the  work,  but  it's  afterward  that 
the  trouble  will  begin.  Every  Spanish  gun  within  range 


/O  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

will  open  fire  on  'em,  an'  what  chance  have  they  got  of 
comin'  out  alive?" 

"  When  will  they  start  ?  " 

"  It'll  be  quite  a  spell  before  they  get  the  steamer  ready 
to  make  the  dive,  'cordin'  to  my  way  of  thinkin'.  In  the 
first  place,  as  I'm  told,  there  are  to  be  plenty  of  torpedoes 
put  in  position  inside  the  old  hooker,  an'  it'll  take  some 
time  to  made  them  ready.  Anyway,  you're  snug  as  a  bug 
in  a  rug  now  —  " 

"Until  Captain  Miller  comes  aboard,"  Teddy  inter- 
rupted. 

"  Have  no  fear  of  him,"  the  little  sailor  said,  as  if  the 
subject  was  not  worthy  of  consideration.  "When  he 
comes,  if  he  ever  does,  it  isn't  to  this  part  of  the  ship 
that  he'll  pay  a  visit.  Officers  spend  their  time  aft,  an' 
small  blame  to  'em.  It  may  be,  Teddy  Dunlap,  that  he'll 
see  you ;  but  the  chances  are  dead  against  it,  so  take  all 
the  comfort  you  can —  " 

"  I  ought  to  be  huntin'  for  daddy." 

"  Well,  you  can't,  leastways,  not  while  we're  aboard  this 
craft ,  but  you  can  count  on  comin'  across  him  before 
this  little  scrimmage  is  ended  off  Santiago,  an'  then  I 
warrant  there'll  be  all  the  chance  you  need." 

"  But  what  am  I  to  do  on  board  here  ? "  Teddy  asked, 
anxiously.  "  It  don't  stand  to  reason  that  we'll  be  allowed 
to  loaf  around  as  if  we  owned  the  whole  vessel." 

"  That's  the  way  you  look  at  it ;  but  my  idees  are  differ- 
ent. Uncle  Sam  will  keep  us  for  a  spell,  that's  certain, 
an'  until  he  gets  tired  of  the  job  we  needn't  worry  our 


THE   MERRIMAC.  /I 

heads.  You  might  live  to  be  a  thousand  years  old  with- 
out strikin'  another  job  as  soft  as  the  one  we've  got  on 
our  hands  this  blessed  minute,  so  I  say,  make  the  most 
of  it." 

"  It's  different  with  you  ;  but  I'm  only  a  stowaway,  an* 
stand  a  good  show  of  gettin'  into  a  heap  of  trouble  when 
the  officers  of  this  ship  find  out  that  I've  no  business  to 
be  here." 

"I  don't  figger  that  way,"  Bill  Jones  replied,  with  a 
light  and  airy  manner.  "  It  doesn't  stand  to  reason  you 
should  have  been  left  aboard  to  go  down  with  the  steamer, 
eh  ?  " 

"They  might  have  set  me  ashore." 

"An'  had  a  precious  good  job  doin'  it.  Look  ye,  Teddy 
Dunlap,  are  you  countin'  yourself  of  so  much  importance 
that  a  battle-ship  is  to  leave  her  station  for  no  other  reason 
than  to  put  you  ashore  ? " 

"  I  didn't  mean  it  that  way.  You  see  they  ought  to  do 
somethin'  with  me  —  " 

"  Then  wait  till  they  get  ready,  an'  don't  borrow  trouble. 
This  crossin'  of  bridges  before  you  come  to  'em  is  likely 
to  make  life  mighty  hard  for  a  young  chap  like  yourself, 
an'  considerin'  all  you've  told  me,  I  wonder  at  it." 

Teddy  could  say  nothing  more.  It  surely  seemed 
reasonable  Bill  Jones  knew  what  it  was  proper  he  should 
do,  and  from  that  moment  he  resolved  to  "take  things 
easy,"  as  his  friend  advised,  rather  than  fret  over  what 
couldn't  be  mended. 

Therefore  it  was  he  ceased  to  worry,  although  at  the 


72  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

same  time  keeping  a  sharp  watch  over  the  Brooklyn,  and 
by  such  a  course  saw  very  much  of  what  happened  off 
Santiago  during  those  months  of  June  and  July,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight. 

Surely  the  stowaway  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  his 
treatment  by  the  crew  of  the  Texas. 

Every  man  did  his  best  to  make  these  waifs  from  the 
doomed  steamer  feel  perfectly  at  home,  and  when  Bill 
Jones  brought  his  sea-chest  aboard,  as  he  did  the  day 
following  their  abandonment  of  the  MerrimaC,  there  was 
not  a  man  on  the  battle-ship  who  did  not  suppose  Teddy's 
dunnage  was  in  the  same  capacious  receptacle. 

Rations  were  served  to  the  stowaway  the  same  as  to 
any  member  of  the  crew,  and  then  he  and  Bill  Jones 
were  called  upon  for  some  trifling  duty,  but  as  the  latter 
said,  there  was  no  more  work  than  was  good  for  them 
by  way  of  exercise. 

In  the  most  pleasant  fashion  possible  the  time  passed 
until  the  Merrimac  was  made  ready  for  her  doom,  and 
these  two  comrades,  for  it  can  well  be  supposed  they 
were  become  fast  friends,  saw  all  the  preparations  with- 
out being  obliged  to  do  any  of  the  disagreeable  work. 

There  was  hardly  an  hour  during  these  days  of  labour 
when  the  two  did  not  hear  Lieutenant  Hobson's  plans 
discussed,  and  they  knew  to  the  slightest  detail  all  he 
proposed  to  do. 

"  Here  is  the  way  he'll  sink  our  craft,  'cordin'  to  all 
I've  heard,"  Bill  Jones  said  to  Teddy  when  the  two  were 
alone  for  a  short  time  on  the  afternoon  after  it  had  been 


THE   MERR1MAC.  75 

reported  on  board  the  Texas  that  everything  was  ready  for 
the  desperate  venture.  "  He'll  run  at  about  ten-knot  speed 
until  four  hundred  yards  or  less  past  the  Estrella  battery, 
or,  in  other  words,  till  he's  in  the  narrowest  part  of  the 
channel.  Then  he'll  put  the  helm  hard  aport,  stop  the 
engines,  drop  the  anchors,  open  the  sea  connections,  touch 
off  the  torpedoes,  an'  leave  the  old  hooker  blockin'  up  the 
entrance  to  Santiago  Harbour." 

"He  can't  do  all  that  alone,"  Teddy  suggested. 

"  Of  course  he  can't,  else  why  is  he  takin'  a  crew  with 
him?  I'm  told  that  this  is  the  exact  way  he  counts  on 
workin'  it.  There'll  be  four  men  on  deck  besides  himself, 
an'  two  in  the  engine-room  ;  all  of  'em  will  be  stripped 
down  to  their  underclothes,  an'  with  revolvers  an'  ammuni- 
tion strapped  in  water-tight  packin'  to  their  waists.  One 
will  be  forward  with  an  axe  to  cut  the  lashings  of  the 
anchor  when  the  word  is  given.  Of  course  Hobson  sig- 
nals the  engineers  to  stop  the  engines,  then  the  fellow  for- 
ward cuts  the  anchor  loose ;  some  one  below  smashes  the 
sea  connections  with  a  sledge-hammer  when  the  machinery 
stops,  and  all  hands  jump  overboard,  countin'  on  swimmin' 
to  the  boat  that's  bein'  towed  astern.  The  lieutenant  him- 
self touches  the  button  that  explodes  the  torpedoes,  an' 
then  over  he  goes ;  it's  a  case  of  every  man  for  himself 
once  the  work  is  begun.  The  steamer  is  bound  to  go 
down  athwart  the  channel,  an'  there  you  have  the  en- 
trance to  Santiago  Bay  shut  up  as  tight  as  Admiral  Samp- 
son can  wish." 

Teddy  did  not  venture  any  criticism.     He  had  heard 


7  6  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

the  subject  discussed  so  often  that  there  was  nothing  new 
he  could  suggest,  and  it  seemed  wisest  to  hold  his  tongue. 

On  the  close  of  this  day  word  was  passed  among  the 
crew  of  the  Texas  that  the  venture  would  be  made  during 
the  coming  night,  and  the  two  visitors  from  the  Merrimac 
were  on  deck  from  sunset  until  sunrise. 

The  work  of  preparing  the  big  collier  was  continued 
throughout  the  entire  night,  and  just  at  daybreak  she  got 
under  way,  as  if  to  begin  the  voyage  which  it  seemed 
certain  could  end  only  with  the  death  of  all ;  but  before 
the  men  on  the  battle-ship  had  time  to  give  her  a  parting 
cheer,  she  put  back  to  her  station,  because,  as  some  of  the 
men  declared,  the  admiral  had  given  positive  orders  for 
her  to  wait  until  another  night. 

Twenty-four  hours  of  additional  preparation  ;  as  many  of 
speculation  and  discussion  among  those  who  were  refused 
an  opportunity  to  offer  their  lives  as  a  sacrifice,  and 
then  came  the  moment  when  Teddy  was  awakened  from 
his  sleep  by  Bill  Jones,  who  said,  as  he  shook  the  lad 
roughly  : 

"  Get  on  deck,  my  hearty,  get  on  deck !  This  time 
there'll  be  no  mistake  as  to  the  sailin',  an'  if  you  want  to 
see  the  last  of  the  Merrimac,  now's  your  chance  !  " 

The  stowaway  did  not  wait  for  a  second  invitation,  and 
a  moment  later  he  formed  a  small  portion  of  the  human 
fringe  which  overhung  the  Texas 's  rail,  peering  out  across 
the  waters  where,  by  the  pale  light  of  the  moon,  could  be 
seen  the  doomed  steamer. 

It   was  even  possible  to  distinguish  the  forms  of  her 


THE   MERRIMAC.  77 

crew  as  they  stood  well  forward,  much  as  though  taking 
a  last  look  at  the  fleet,  and,  near  at  hand,  the  tiny  launch 
from  the  New  York,  which  was  to  follow  the  collier  in 
with  the  hope  of  picking  up  some  of  her  brave  crew  when 
they  leaped  into  the  water. 

Among  all  that  throng  of  men  on  the  Texas  hardly 
a  word  was  spoken  as  the  Merrimac  slowly  got  under  way. 
Every  one  remained  silent  as  if  under  the  spell  cast  by 
the  bravery  of  those  who  were  literally  taking  their  lives 
in  their  hands  that  the  starry  flag  might  wave  triumphant. 

Boldly  the  collier  steamed  in  toward  the  coast,  being 
lost  to  view  immediately  she  got  under  the  shadow  of  the 
high  hills  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  and  a  mile  or  more 
astern  the  tiny  launch  puffed  her  way  along  as  if  conscious 
that  this  morning's  work  was  of  extreme  importance. 

Then  both  craft  were  swallowed  up  by  the  gloom,  and 
yet  that  throng  of  men  overhanging  the  Texas  s  rail 
remained  motionless,  waiting  with  an  anxiety  that  was 
most  intense  for  some  sign  which  would  give  token  of 
their  shipmates'  fate. 

During  half  an  hour  every  man  waited  in  keenest  sus- 
pense, never  one  venturing  to  so  much  as  speak,  and  then 
from  the  heights  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour  the  flash 
of  a  gun  streamed  out. 

It  came  almost  in  the  nature  of  a  relief,  for  every  one 
knew  that  the  Merrimac  was  nearing  her  destination  at  last. 

The  suspense  was  at  an  end,  whatever  might  be  the 
result,  and  even  Teddy  Dunlap  believed  he  could  predict 
the  close  of  that  most  desperate  venture. 


7  8  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

Within  ten  seconds  after  the  first  flash,  another  was 
seen,  then  a  third,  and  a  fourth,  until  it  was  no  longer 
possible  to  count  them. 

The  heights  guarding  the  channel  appeared  to  be 
ablaze  ;  but  yet  not  a  sound  could  be  heard. 

The  blockading  squadron  were  so  far  away  that  the 
reports  were  lost  in  the  distance. 

Then  the  eager  men  found  tongue,  and  it  was  as  if 
each  spoke  at  the  same  instant,  giving  no  heed  as  to 
whether  his  neighbour  replied. 

During  full  twenty  minutes  these  silent  flashes  could  be 
seen  in  the  distance,  and  then  they  died  away  just  as  the 
gray  light  of  the  coming  dawn  appeared  in  the  eastern  sky. 

"  It's  all  over !  "  Bill  Jones  said,  as  he  laid  his  hand  on 
Teddy's  shoulder.  "  I  reckon  the  old  Merrimac  is  lay  in' 
in  the  channel  to  keep  the  Spaniards  from  sneakin'  out ; 
but  them  as  carried  her  in  so  bravely  are  past  all  troubles 
of  this  world's  makin'.  It's  great  to  be  a  hero ;  but  the 
glory  of  it  is  soon  over !  " 

"Do  you  suppose  they've  all  been  killed?"  Teddy 
asked  in  a  whisper,  for  it  was  much  like  speaking  in  the 
presence  of  the  dead. 

"  There's  little  doubt  of  it,  lad.  Think  you  a  craft  like 
the  Merrimac  could  stand  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell  that 
was  poured  on  her  from  the  time  we  saw  the  first  flash  ? 
Just  bear  in  mind  that  every  puff  of  flame  betokened 
a  chunk  of  iron  large  enough  to  sink  this  'ere  battle-ship, 
if  it  struck  her  fairly,  an'  you  can  have  a  fair  idee  of  how 
much  chance  those  poor  fellows  stood." 


THE  MERRIMAC.  8 1 

Among  all  the  crew  there  was  hardly  one  who  did  not 
share  this  opinion  with  Bill  Jones.  To  them,  the  heroes 
who  went  smilingly  to  their  death  had  left  this  world 
for  ever,  and  yet  the  men  continued  to  overhang  the 
rail,  awaiting  the  return  of  the  launch,  with  the  idea 
that  when  she  arrived  they  might  hear  something  of 
importance. 

Not  until  three  hours  later  did  the  little  craft  show  her- 
self, and  then  she  came  out  from  under  the  shadow  of 
the  land  followed  by  a  shower  of  missiles  from  the  big 
guns  ashore. 

The  men  on  the  Texas  were  forced  to  wait  some  time 
before  learning  what  information  she  brought,  for  the 
launch  went  directly  to  the  New  York,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  several  hours  elapsed  before  the  crew  heard 
all  that  could  then  be  told. 

This  was  to  the  effect  that  the  tiny  boat  followed  the 
collier  until  fire  was  opened  upon  the  doomed  steamer, 
and  she  was  so  enshrouded  by  smoke  as  to  be  lost  from 
view.  Then  the  launch  was  headed  in  under  the  bat- 
teries, where  she  remained  until  daylight  on  the  lookout 
for  a  swimmer. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  no  sign  of  life  had  been 
seen,  and  the  little  craft  made  for  the  fleet,  followed  by  a 
rain  of  shot  from  the  shore  batteries. 

While  crossing  the  harbour  entrance  one  spar  of  the 
Merrimac  was  seen  sticking  out  of  the  water,  and  thus  it 
was  known  that  the  little  band  of  braves  had  done  their 
work  faithfully,  at  whatever  cost  to  themselves. 


82  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

There  was  neither  jest  nor  careless  word  among  the 
crew  of  the  battle-ship  during  this  forenoon ;  even  Bill 
Jones  remained  almost  absolutely  silent.  It  seemed  that 
they  stood  in  the  presence  of  death,  and  more  than  one 
acted  as  if  believing  he  was  taking  part  in  the  funeral 
services  of  those  who  had  so  lately  been  among  them. 

Teddy  had  seen  every  man  who  went  to  make  up  that 
devoted  crew,  and  to  him  it  was  as  if  his  personal  friends 
had  met  their  death ;  but  in  such  a  brave  fashion  that  it 
would  have  been  almost  a  crime  to  mourn  their  taking 
off. 

Then,  like  a  flash  of  lightning  from  a  clear  sky,  came 
the  joyful  news  that  every  man  among  that  band  who  had 
devoted  themselves  to  death,  was  yet  among  the  living, 
and  comparatively  uninjured. 

It  was  almost  incredible  information,  and  yet,  because  of 
its  source,  no  one  could  doubt  it. 

At  two  hours  past  noon,  while  the  men  of  the  Texas 
were  sheltering  themselves  from  the  burning  rays  of  the 
sun  and  discussing  for  the  hundredth  time  the  last  proba- 
ble moments  of  their  shipmates,  a  steam-launch,  carrying 
a  white  flag,  put  out  from  the  harbour,  making  directly  for 
the  flag-ship  New  York. 

At  the  time  no  one  fancied  for  a  single  moment  that 
the  coming  of  this  craft  could  have  any  connection  with 
those  who  had  left  the  station  to  wreck  the  Merrimac, 
but  there  were  some  who  suggested  that  the  Spaniards 
were  ready  to  surrender,  and,  in  support  of  this  theory, 
cited  the  fact  that  the  royal  squadron  was  bottled  up 


THE  MERRIMAC.'  83 

so  tightly  it  could  never  be  used  against  the  United 
States. 

Others  declared  that  the  Spanish  admiral  was  about  to 
make  an  offer  of  compromise,  and  not  a  few  believed  the 
flag  of  truce  had  to  do  with  the  capitulation  of  the  city  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba. 

Not  a  man  was  prepared  for  the  news  which  floated 
from  ship  to  ship,  no  one  could  say  exactly  how ;  but  in 
less  than  an  hour  from  the  time  the  launch  made  fast 


alongside  the  New  York, 
it  was  known  that  she  brought 
a  message  from  Admiral  Cervera, 

commander  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  to  the  effect  that  the 
crew  of  the  Merrimac  had  been  captured,  and  were  held 
as  prisoners  of  war. 

Lieutenant  Hobson  was  uninjured,  and  only  two  of  the 
party  had  been  wounded  slightly. 

It  seemed  too  good  to  be  true,  but  when  the  men 
realised  that  this  information  must  be  correct,  that  it  had 
been  sent  by  a  generous  enemy,  they  spent  a  good  five 
minutes  cheering  alternately  for  those  who  had  escaped 
after  having  gone  down  into  the  very  jaws  of  death,  and 


84  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

for  that  gallant  Spaniard  who,  recognising  bravery  even  in 
his  foe,  had  taken  the  trouble  to  announce  the  safety  of 
those  who  were  battling  against  him. 

"  It's  what  I  call  a  mighty  fine  thing  for  the  old  admiral 
to  do,"  Bill  Jones  said,  as  he  held  forth  to  a  gun's  crew 
with  whom  he  and  Teddy  messed.  "  It  ain't  every  officer 
as  would  go  out  of  his  way  to  send  such  news  as  that,  an' 
if  Admiral  Cervera  should  ever  fall  into  my  hands  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  he  can  count  on  bein'  treated  like  a  white 
man." 

There  was  a  roar  from  Bill's  auditors  at  the  intimation 
that  the  commander  of  the  Spanish  fleet  might  ever  be 
captured  by  that  sailor,  for  by  this  time  all  had  come  to 
know  him  as  a  "  plain,  every-day  sailor,  with  not  a  fightin' 
timber  in  him ; "  but  not  a  man  within  sound  of  his  voice 
cared  to  contradict  him. 

On  that  night,  after  the  subject  of  the  venture  and  its 
sequel  had  been  discussed  until  worn  threadbare,  the  little 
sailor  said  to  Teddy,  as  if  telling  him  some  important 
truth  : 

"You'll  see  great  doin's  now,  lad,  an'  it  wouldn't  give 
me  such  a  terrible  surprise  to  know  that  the  war  was 
ended  within  the  next  twenty-four  hours,  .for  them 
bloomin'  Spaniards  in  Santiago  must  understand  by 
this  time  that  the  sooner  they  give  in  whipped,  the  less 
of  a  lickin'  they're  like  to  get." 

And  Teddy,  thinking  more  of  his  own  condition  than 
the  glory  of  the  country,  asked,  with  no  slight  distress  of 
mind : 


THE   MERRIMAC.  85 

"  If  it  should  come  to  a  stop  as  soon  as  that,  how  could 
I  ever  get  word  to  father  ?  Of  course  the  Brooklyn  would 
go  right  home,  an'  I'd  be  left  here." 

"  I'll  take  care  of  that,  lad,"  Bill  Jones  replied,  in  a  tone 
of  assurance.  "  Never  you  have  a  fear  but  that  I'll  see 
she  don't  leave  this  station  till  you've  had  a  chance  to  go 
on  board  long  enough  to  sort  out  the  coal-passers." 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE    CHASE. 

BILL  JONES  found  time  to  change  his  opinion  as  to 
the  speedy  termination  of  the  war  after  the  Mer- 
rimac  had  been  sunk  at  the  entrance  of  Santiago  Bay. 

Instead  of  displaying  any  anxiety  to  surrender,  the 
Spaniards  on  the  island  appeared  to  be  making  every 
preparation  for  a  stubborn  defence,  and  the  fleet  of  war- 
vessels  had  little  opportunity  to  do  much  more  than 
blockade  duty. 

Teddy  Dunlap,  looked  upon  by  the  crew  of  the  Texas  as 
a  lad  who  had  every  right  to  be  among  them,  might  have 
enjoyed  this  cruising  to  and  fro,  keeping  watch  over  the 
entrance  to  the  harbour,  now  and  then  overhauling  a  sus- 
picious-looking vessel  that  ventured  too  near,  and  at  times 
throwing  shells  ashore  from  the  big  guns,  but  for  the 
fact  that  he  burned  with  impatience  to  be  with  his 
father. 

The  Brooklyn  remained  in  view  nearly  all  the  time, 
now  so  close  at  hand  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  two  ships 
must  immediately  come  within  hailing  distance,  and  again 
so  far  away  that  she  appeared  only  as  a  tiny  speck 
against  the  white  sky,  yet  the  stowaway  was  as  completely 

86 


THE   CHASE.  8/ 

separated  from  his  father  as  if  they  were  thousands  of 
miles  apart. 

"  If  only  the  captains  couldn't  talk  with  those  little 
flags,  it  might  be  that  the  ships  would  come  side  by 
side !  "  he  said,  with  a  long-drawn  sigh,  to  Bill  Jones. 
"  There'll  never  be  any  need  for  them  to  sail  nearer  than 
within  sight,  an'  I  won't  get  a  chance  to  speak  to  father, 
—  perhaps  not  this  year." 

"  The  prospect  don't  look  very  encouragin'  just  at  the 
present  time,  an'  that's  a  fact,"  Bill  said,  thoughtfully, 
filling  his  pipe  with  unusual  care.  "Two  or  three  days 
ago  it  seemed  as  if  the  war  was  mighty  nigh  at  an  end  ;  but 
now  there  'pears  to  be  a  good  deal  of  fight  left  in  the 
Dagoes." 

"An'  while  we're  loafin'  'round  here,  Captain  Miller 
will  come  aboard  some  fine  day.  Then  where'll  I  be  ? " 

"  Right  here,  my  lad,  an'  there's  no  use  lookin'  ahead. 
He  won't  come  the  sooner,  or  stay  away  any  longer,  no 
matter  how  much  you  fuss,  so  why  not  save  the  wear  an.' 
tear  of  thinkin'  ?  " 

"  See  here,"  and  Teddy  leaned  forward  to  look  the  little 
sailor  full  in  the  eyes,  "  do  you  believe  I'll  ever  have 
a  chance  of  lettin'  daddy  know  where  I  am  ? " 

"  It  stands  to  reason  there  must  be  a  show  for  it  in 
course  of  time." 

-When?" 

"  Now  you're  askin'  me  a  question  I  ain't  in  condition 
to  answer.  It  may  be  two  or  three  weeks,  or,  then  again, 
the  show  might  come  sudden,  within  an  hour.  At  sea 


88  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

you  can't  ever  tell  what's  goin'  to  happen,  Teddy  Dunlap, 
an'  there's  nothin'  for  it  but  to  keep  your  ears  an'  eyes 
open  all  the  time,  ready  to  jump  on  the  first  promisin' 
chance  that  comes  your  way." 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  such  a  conversation  as  this 
should  be  set  down,  save  that  it  is  similar  to  a  hundred 
others  which  were  held  between  the  two  comrades  during 
the  weeks  which  followed  the  sinking  of  the  Merrimac, 
when  Teddy  Dunlap,  without  effort  on  his  part,  was  trans- 
formed from  a  stowaway  to  a  lad  apparently  in  the  employ 
of  Uncle  Sam. 

Never  for  a  single  moment  did  he  lose  sight  of  the 
possible  fact  that  either  the  Brooklyn  or  the  Texas  might 
be  ordered  away  from  this  particular  station,  in  which 
case  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  many  months 
must  elapse  before  he  could  inform  his  father  of  his 
whereabouts. 

There  was  grave  danger  the  two  might  be  separated 
so  widely  that  months,  perhaps  years,  would  elapse  before 
they  could  meet  again,  and  Teddy  was  never  comfortable 
in  mind,  but,  despite  all  the  good  advice  given  by  Bill 
Jones,  continued  to  look  out  into  the  future,  searching  for 
trouble.  ' 

Meanwhile  both  he  and  the  little  sailor  were  kept  at 
work  on  board  the  Texas  exactly  as  if  they  had  been 
regularly  enlisted ;  but  the  duties  were  so  light  among 
such  a  large  number,  that  he  who  complained  of  the  work 
must  indeed  have  been  an  indolent  fellow. 

And  while  Teddy  worried  over  his  own  seeming  troubles, 


THE   CHASE.  89 

the  two  nations  continued  at  war,  killing  and  wounding 
men  at  every  opportunity,  and  ever  striving  to  strike  some 
decisive  blow. 

As  a  matter  of  course  Teddy  and  Bill  Jones  took  their 
small  part  in  the  bombardment  of  the  batteries  at  the 
entrance  to  Santiago  Harbour  two  days  after  the  Mcrritnac 
had  been  sunk. 

The  Texas  was  the  third  vessel  in  the  first  column, 
headed  by  the  Brooklyn,  when,  shortly  after  sunrise,  the 
fleet  steamed  inshore  and  opened  fire  with  the  heavy 
guns. 

It  was  to  the  boy  as  if  he  went  into  action  almost  by 
the  side  of  his  father,  and  he  worked  with  a  will  at  what- 
soever was  set  him  to  do,  although  at  times  the  terrific 
roar  literally  stunned  him,  while  the  heat  was  so  great 
that  it  seemed  as  if  he  was  on  the  verge  of  suffocation 
during  every  moment  of  the  four  hours  the  bombardment 
continued. 

Then  the  squadron  steamed  back  to  its  blockading 
station,  and  at  no  time  had  the  Brooklyn  and  Texas  been 
so  near  each  other  as  to  have  rendered  it  possible  for 
Teddy  to  see  his  father,  even  though  the  latter  had  stood 
on  the  battle-ship's  deck  ever}'  moment. 

Again  and  again,  as  the  days  passed,  did  the  Texas 
go  into  action,  and  at  no  time  were  the  little  stowaway  and 
his  small  comrade  remiss  in  their  duties. 

They  did  their  full  share  of  the  work,  despite  Bill 
Jones's  assertion  that  he  was  only  a  "plain,  every-day 
sailor  with  no  fightin'  timber  about  him,"  and  as  the  weeks 


9o 


OFF  SANTIAGO    WITH  SAMPSON. 


wore  on  these  two  became  more  and  more  closely  iden- 
tified with  the  battle-ship  to  which  chance  had  sent  them. 
When  the  ship  was  sent  to  bombard  the  works  at 
Matamoras,  and  a  Spanish  shell  struck  near  the  stern  on 
the  port  side,  passing  through  the  hull  three  feet  below 
the  main-deck  line,  and  exploding  on  the  berth-deck,  kill- 
ing one  man  and  wounding  eight,  Teddy's  search  for  his 
father  nearly  came  to  an  end. 

A  fragment  of  the  shell  passed  within  ten  inches  of  the 

boy's  head,  strik- 
ing down  a  sailor 
just  beyond  him, 
and  Teddy  won 
the  admiration  of 
every  man  on 
board  by  spring- 
ing to  the  relief 
of  the  poor  fel- 
low whose  leg 
had  been  shattered,  instead  of  taking  flight,  as  might  quite 
naturally  have  been  expected. 

Later,  when  the  Texas  had  withdrawn  from  the  action, 
man  after  man  congratulated  the  lad  upon  his  behaviour, 
predicting  that  he  would  in  time  prove  himself  worthy  of 
serving  under  such  a  commander  as  Captain  Philip,  and 
otherwise  bestowing  so  much  praise  that  at  the  first 
opportunity  he  said  confidentially  to  Bill  Jones  : 

"  It  makes  me  ashamed  to  have  them  say  so  much  about 
how  I  acted.  It  wasn't  different  from  what  any  other 


7 HE    CHASE.  91 

feller  would  have  done,  because  I  forgot  all  about  the 
danger  when  Baker  fell." 

"  I'm  thinkin'  you're  out  of  your  reckonin'  there,  lad, 
for  accordin'  to  my  idee,  there  ain't  a  boy  in  a  thousand 
who'd  handled  himself  as  well  as  you  did.  Now  I'm  no 
fightin'  man,  as  I've  said  before,  but  your  keepin'  such 
a  stiff  upper  lip,  when  there  was  precious  good  chance  of 
bein'  killed,  did  me  solid  good.  I  knew  you  had  sand, 
from  the  first  minute  of  settin'  eyes  on  you,  but  never 
suspected  there  was  so  much  of  it." 

"  You're  talkin'  worse  than  the  others,  even  when  I'm 
tellin'  the  truth  about  not  knowin'  there  was  any  danger. 
I  only  saw  poor  Baker,  an'  thought  I  might  help 
him." 

"  It  ain't  what  you  thought,  lad,  but  what  you  did,  that 
counts,  an'  now  if  Captain  Miller  comes  aboard  I'm  willin' 
to  guarantee  he  won't  be  allowed  to  kick  up  any  row 
because  of  your  stowin'  away  on  the  Merrimac.  The  crew 
wouldn't  allow  any  funny  business  with  you,  after  this 
day's  work.  Don't  you  see  how  much  nearer  your  father 
we  are  than  we  were  this  mornin'  ? " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"Just  what  I  say,  lad.  You've  made  for  yourself  a 
standin'  on  board  this  ship,  an'  now  when  the  time  comes 
right  I'm  goin'  to  tell  your  story  to  one  of  the  petty 
officers,  askin'  him  to  see  it  reaches  Captain  Philip's  ears. 
Once  that's  been  done,  Teddy  Dunlap,  we'll  be  hailin'  the 
Brooklyn  with  signals  flyin'  to  tell  the  coal-passers  that 
one  of  'em  has  got  a  son  on  board  this  craft." 


92  OFF  SANTIAGO    WITH  SAMPSON. 

"  Do  you  suppose  any  such  plan  might  work  ? "  Teddy 
asked,  breathlessly. 

"There  ain't  a  shadow  of  doubt  about  it  in  my  mind." 

"  Why  don't  you  do  it  now  ?  I've  given  up  hopin'  this 
war  is  pretty  near  at  an  end,  an'  am  hungry  to  see  daddy." 

"  Better  wait  awhile  longer,  my  boy.  It's  a  little  too 
soon  to  show  ourselves  very  big,  'cause  it  ain't  no  ways 
certain  the  captain  has  had  time  to  hear  of  what  you  did. 
We'll  hold  off  a  spell,  an'  then,  when  the  signs  come  right, 
you'll  see  me  put  this  business  along  in  great  shape." 

Because  of  this  promise,  and  also  owing  to  the  many 
words  of  praise  which  were  showered  upon  him  by  the 
men,  Teddy  Dunlap  believed,  as  he  had  several  times 
before,  that  the  hour  was  very  near  at  hand  when  he 
would'be  with  his  father  or>ce  more  ;  but,  as  in  the  past, 
he  was  doomed  to  disappointment  during  more  days  than 
he  cared  to  count. 

The  " signs"  never  came  so  nearly  right  as  to  give  Bill 
Jones  courage  to  take  the  responsibility  of  telling  Teddy's 
story  to  those  who  would  repeat  it  to  Captain  Philip,  and 
these  two  refugees  from  the  Merrimac  remained  aboard 
the  Texas,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  crew. 

It  was  known  to  them,  as  to  every  one  on  the  warships, 
that  hot  fighting  was  going  on  ashore  in  the  vicinity  of 
Santiago,  and  at  frequent  intervals  the  big  vessels  steamed 
toward  the  land,  in  this  direction  or  that,  to  shell  the 
Spanish  camps ;  but  they  were  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  scene  of  action  that  such  work  had  little  the  appear- 
ance of  warfare. 


THE    CHASE.  93 

In  fact,  the  air  of  plain,  every-day  business  about  the 
operations  rendered  it  difficult  to  believe  the  huge  shot 
and  shell  which  were  hurled  landward  carried  in  their 
wake  death  and  destruction  to  many. 

When  one  of  the  Texas  s  big  guns  was  discharged, 
Teddy  could  hear  the  roar,  and  feel  the  concussion,  as 
a  matter  of  course ;  he  could  also  see  the  missile  as  it  sped 
through  the  air ;  but  he  had  no  means  of  knowing  where 
it  struck,  neither  did  he  have  a  view  of  the  desolation  and 
ruin  it  caused,  therefore,  like  many  another  man  aboard 
the  battle-ship,  he  came  to  look  upon  this  work  of  war  as 
nothing  more  than  harmless  practice. 

The  day  was  near  at  hand,  however,  when  the  stowa- 
way and  his  little  comrade  were  to  have  all  too  good  a 
view  of  the  butchery  and  inhumanity  of  war. 

It  was  on  Sunday  morning,  the  third  day  of  July. 

The  crew  of  the  Texas  had  been  mustered  for  religious 
services,  and  while  Bill  Jones  and  Teddy  waited  in  their 
proper  places  for  the  coming  of  the  chaplain,  the  sailor 
whispered : 

"  To-morrow  mornin'  I'm  goin'  to  start  in  on  your  busi- 
ness, lad.  So  far  as  I  can  see,  the  fleet  is  likely  to  be 
here  a  year  or  more  before  the  Spaniards  are  ready  to 
surrender  Santiago,  and  if  I  don't  bring  you  to  the  cap- 
tain's notice  soon,  all  your  good  behaviour  when  the  shot 
came  aboard  will  have  been  forgotten." 

"I'm  afraid  we've  waited  too  long  already,"  the  lad 
replied,  with  a  sigh,  for  the  hope  had  been  so  long  deferred 
that  his  " heart  was  sick"  indeed  for  a  sight  of  his  father. 


94  OFF  SANTIAGO  WITH  SAMPSON. 

"  I  reckon  not,  Teddy ;  but  if  I've  made  a  mistake  in 
holdin'  off,  it  was  done  through  fear  I  might  speak  too 
soon." 

"  Don't  think  I'm  blamin'  you,"  the  boy  replied,  quickly, 
pressing  his  comrade's  arm  in  a  friendly  fashion.  "If 
you  never  did  anything  more,  I'd  feel  as  if  you'd  been 
mighty  good  to  me,  for  I  couldn't  have  run  across  many 
sailors  who'd  lay  themselves  out  to  help  a  stowaway." 

"That  part  of  it  is  —  " 

Bill  Jones  was  interrupted  by  a  shout,  —  Teddy  will 
never  know  who  uttered  it,  or  what  the  words  were,  — 
and  instantly,  without  the  slightest  apparent  cause,  all 
was  seeming  confusion  on  board  the  ship. 

It  was  to  the  lad  as  if  the  very  air  bristled  with  excite- 
ment ;  he  saw  men  darting  here  and  there,  heard  sharp, 
quick  words  of  command,  and  as  if  at  the  very  same  in- 
stant, the  Texas  seemed  to  leap  forward  with  a  bound,  huge 
clouds  of  black  smoke  suddenly  pouring  out  of  her  stacks. 

"The  Spaniards!  The  Spaniards!"  Bill  Jones  yelled 
in  the  lad's  ear,  at  the  same  time  pointing  toward  the 
entrance  to  the  harbour,  from  out  of  which  could  be  seen 
the  dark  hull  of  an  enemy's  ship. 

It  was  as  if  in  that  small  fraction  of  time  very  much 
took  place. 

Teddy  saw  long  lines  of  signal-flags  run  up  to  the  Brook- 
lyn s  masthead  ;  he  heard  the  roar  of  a  6-pounder  as  the 
Iowa  fired  the  first  shot  at  the  foe,  and  understood,  rather 
than  saw,  that  every  vessel  in  the  squadron  was  under  a 
full  head  of  steam  almost  immediately. 


THE    CHASE,  95 

At  one  instant  the  blockading  squadron  lay  motionless 
and  apparently  lifeless  off  the  harbour,  rocking  lazily  on  the 
long  swell,  and  then,  before  one  could  speak,  as  it  were, 
every  listless  hull  was  a  war  machine,  quivering  with  life, 
and  pouring  forth  deadly  shot  and  shell. 

The  transformation  was  so  sudden  and  complete  that  it 
is  little  wonder  Teddy  and  Bill  Jones  stood  transfixed  with 
astonishment  until  the  chase  was  well  under  way. 

One  after  another  of  the  Spanish  cruisers  came  at  full 
speed  out  of  the  harbour  which  it  had  been  believed  was 
closed  by  the  hull  of  the  Merrimac,  and  as  each  ship 
rounded  the  point  her  guns  were  discharged  at  the  Yan- 
kee squadron.  The  dense  smoke  pouring  out  of  their 
stacks  ;  the  clouds  of  spray  from  their  bows,  glistening 
like  diamonds  in  the  sunlight  of  that  Sabbath  morning  as 
it  was  thrown  aft  by  the  fierce  impetus  of  the  huge  vessels 
to  mingle  with  the  smoke  that  came  from  every  gun  ;  the 
•roar  and  thunder  of  the  discharges  ;  the  shrieking  of  the 
missiles,  and  the  spouting  of  water  as  the  metal  fell  short, 
made  up  a  scene  of  war  in  its  most  terrific  phase. 

On  the  other  side,  three  battle-ships  and  an  armoured 
cruiser  dashing  forward  at  the  full  speed  of  their  engines  ; 
the  heavy  reverberations  of  guns  ;  black  clouds  and  white 
of  smoke  from  coal  and  from  burning  powder  ;  men  stripped 
to  the  waist  and  working  at  the  pieces  with  a  fury,  haste, 
and  energy  that  could  not  have  been  increased  had  each 
individual  member  of  the  crew  been  fighting  against  a 
personal  foe,  and  words  of  command,  encouragement,  or 
hope,  which  were  heard  on  every  hand,  thrilled  the  boy 


96  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

who  had  trembled  before  the  supposed  wrath  of  a  collier's 
captain,  until  each  nerve  was  tingling  with  excitement,  - 
each  pulse  bounding  with  the  hot   blood  that  leaped   in 
feverish  throbs  from  artery  to  artery. 

Teddy  Dunlap  was  in  the  very  midst  of  what  but  few 
had  ever  seen,  —  a  sea-battle  with  the  mightiest  ships  in 
the  world  as  combatants. 

It  was  while  the  lad  and  his  elderly  comrade  stood  like 
statues,  gazing  at  the  wondrous,  terrible  sight  around 
them,  that  the  former  saw  a  huge  shell  leave  the  turret 
of  the  Iowa,  rise  on  the  arc  of  a  circle  in  the  air,  cleaving 
its  way  directly  toward  the  Teresa,  the  foremost  of  the 
fleeing  ships. 

Teddy  was  still  following  the  missile  with  his  eyes  when 
it  struck  the  Spaniard's  hull,  cutting  its  way  through  as  if 
no  resistance  was  offered,  and  it  seemed  that  the  huge 
mass  had  but  just  disappeared  when  great  volumes  of 
smoke  and  flame  burst  from  the  aperture  made  by  the 
shell,  telling  that  the  first  of  the  enemy's  fleet  was  already 
vanquished. 

Then  came  a  mighty  yell  from  every  man  aboard  the 
Texas  as  well  as  the  Io^va,  for  the  gun  had  been  aimed 
with  a  precision  worthy  a  Yankee  gunner  whose  fore- 
fathers, perhaps,  had  been  forced  to  shoot  accurately  in 
order  to  save  their  scalps  from  the  lurking  Indian. 

This  cry  of  satisfaction  had  not  yet  died  away  when  the 
Maria  Teresa  was  headed  for  the  beach,  with  smoke  and 
flame  enveloping  all  her  after  part,  —  a  wreck  before  she 
had  more  than  cleared  the  harbour's  mouth. 


THE    CHASE.  97 

"  There's  one  of  'em  done  for,  an'  in  short  order !  " 
Bill  Jones  screamed,  dancing  to  and  fro  like  a  crazy  per- 
son, and  if  he  made  any  further  remark  Teddy  failed  to 
hear  it,  because  of  the  cheers  of  triumph  which  came  from 
every  vessel  in  the  American  fleet. 

The  enemy  had  counted  on  cutting  his  way  through  the 
blockading  squadron,  but  the  first  of  his  vessels  had  come 
to  grief  before  the  chase  was  fairly  begun. 

As  the  Teresa  swung  round  in  order  to  gain  shoal 
water  before  the  fire  should  completely  envelop  her, 
Teddy  saw  two  small,  swift,  low-lying  steamers  come  out 
from  behind  her  with  a  speed  which  seemed  like  that  of 
the  wind,  and  the  little  sailor  cried,  in  tones  nearly  resem- 
bling fear  : 

"There  are  the  destroyers  !  The  Pluton  and  Furor! 
Our  ships  are  not  speedy  enough  to  keep  out  of  their 
way !  Now  is  the  Spaniard's  chance  to  pay  for  the  loss 
of  the  Teresa  !  " 

Teddy  had  heard  of  these  torpedo-boats,  and  knew  what 
it  was  possible  for  them  to  do  unless,  perchance,  they 
might  be  checked  at  long  range,  and  yet  the  command- 
ers of  the  Yankee  battle-ships  apparently  gave  no  heed  to 
the  dangerous  enemies  which  had  been  designed  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  destroying  such  as  they. 

Straight  toward  the  Brooklyn  these  formidable  craft 
were  headed,  and  the  stowaway  involuntarily  cried  aloud 
in  terror,  for  was  not  his  father  on  board  that  vessel  which 
appeared  to  be  in  such  peril  ? 

Then,  coming  up  swiftly,  as  a  hawk  darts  out  upon  its 


98  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

prey,  the  lad  saw  the  little  yacht  Gloticester  swim  directly 
inshore  to  meet  these  mighty  engines  of  destruction, 
when  one  well-directed  shot  from  their  guns  would  have 
sent  her  to  the  bottom,  crushed  out  of  all  semblance  of  a 
vessel. 

At  that  moment  Teddy  and  Bill  Jones  saw  what  much 
resembled  the  attack  of  a  fly  upon  two  huge  spiders. 

The  tiny  Gloucester  steamed  straight  down  upon  the 
destroyers,  cutting  them  off  from  their  intended  prey,  and 
pelting  them  with  shells  from  her  small  6-pounders,  but 
doing  the  work  with  such  accuracy  and  precision  of  aim 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  battle  was  no  more  than  begun 
before  these  two  mighty  machines  turned  toward  the  shore 
to  follow  the  Teresa,  but  sinking  even  while  one  could 
say  they  were  beaten. 

"  Hurrah  for  Wainwright !     Bully  little  Gloucester!" 

Two  hundred  voices  rose  high  with  shouts  of  triumph 
and  exultation  that  the  Yankee  gunners  had  not  only  done 
their  work  well,  but  with  bravery  such  as  could  not  be 
excelled,  and  meanwhile  the  big  ships  went  tearing  madly 
on  lest  the  Vizcaya,  the  Cristobal  Colon,  and  the  Almirante 
Oquendo,  all  that  were  left  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  should 
escape  them. 

The  Iowa  and  the  Texas  had  selected  the  Vizcaya  as 
their  prey,  and  while  the  remainder  of  the  fleet  stretched 
away  in  pursuit  of  the  other  ships,  these  two  cut  off  the 
big  Spaniard,  forcing  her  to  fight  whether  she  liked  or 
not. 

Teddy  and  Bill  Jones  stood  on  the  port    side  of   the 


THE    CHASE.   •   * 


Texas,  all  unconscious  that  they  were  exposed  to  any 
chance  shot  the  Spaniard  might  send  aboard,  and  realising 
nothing  save  the  fever  of  battle.  The  odour  of  burning 
powder  was  in  their  nostrils,  and  life  or  death,  danger  or 
safety  were  alike  the  same. 

The  Texas  literally  reeled  under  their  feet  as  her  big 
guns  were  discharged  full  at  the  Vizcaya,  which  ship  was 
hurling  shot  and  shell  with  reckless  rapidity  and  inaccuracy 
of  aim. 

The  roar  of  the  pieces  was  like  the  crashing  of  thunder  ; 
the  vibrations  of  the  air  smote  one  like  veritable  blows, 
and  enormous  smoke  clouds  rolled  here  and  there,  now 
shutting  off  all  view,  and  again  lifting  to  reveal  the  enemy 
in  his  desperate  but  ill-directed  flight. 

"  Can  we  sink  her  ?  "  Teddy  asked  once,  when  the  two 
comrades  were  so  closely  enveloped  by  the  pungent 
vapour  that  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  objects  five 
feet  away,  and  the  little  sailor  cried,  in  a  delirium  of 
excitement  : 

"  Sink  her,  lad  ?    That's  what  we're  bound  to  do  !  " 

"  She  is  workin'  her  guns  for  all  they  are  worth,  an' 
I've  heard  it  said  that  even  a  ship  like  this  would  go 
down  if  a  big  shell  struck  fairly." 

"  Ay,  lad,  an'  so  she  would,  I  reckon  ;  but  we'll  have 
yonder  Spaniard  under  the  water  before  her  gunners  can 
get  the  range.  Every  shot  of  ours  is  hittin'  its  mark,  an' 
they're  not  comin'  within  half  a  mile  of  us  !  Sink  her  ! 
We'll  —  " 

Even  as  Bill  Jones  spoke,  the  1  2-inch  gun  in  the  Texas  s 


WITH  SAMPSON. 

forward  turret  was  discharged.  The  smoke  rolled  aside 
at  the  same  instant,  and  the  two  watchers  saw  a  huge  shell 
dart  forth,  speeding  directly  toward  the  ship  that  had  so 
lately  been  a  friendly  visitor  in  the  harbour  of  New  York. 

It  struck  its  mark  fairly,  crashed  through  the  iron 
plating  as  if  through  paper,  and  then  Teddy  saw  the 
mighty  vessel  reel  under  her  death-stroke  when  the  shell 
exploded. 

Another  howl  of  triumph ;  half  naked  men  danced  to 
and  fro  in  their  excitement ;  the  gunners  rushed  out  from 
the  turrets  gasping  for  breath,  but  yelling  with  savage  joy, 
and  the  Vizcaya  s  bow  was  headed  toward  the  shore ! 

The  fourth  vessel  of  the  enemy's  fleet  had  been  dis- 
abled, and  there  only  remained  the  two  mighty  ships  in 
the  distance,  from  the  smoke-stacks  of  which  poured  forth 
long  rolls  of  black  smoke,  flecked  with  sparks  and  burning 
brands,  that  told  of  the  desperate  efforts  being  made  to 
escape. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
TEDDY'S  DADDY. 

r  I  ^HE  Maria  Teresa  and  the  Vizcaya  were  in  flames, 
*-  heading  for  shoal  water  that  they  might  not  carry 
down  with  their  blackened  hulks  the  men  who  had  de- 
fended them,  although  feebly,  and  there  was  no  longer  any 
reason  why  the  Texas  should  remain  in  that  vicinity. 

The  Iowa  swung  inshore  to  make  certain  the  ruin  was 
as  complete  as  it  appeared  from  the  distance,  and  when 
the  royal  ensign  was  hauled  down  that  a  white  flag  might 
be  hoisted  on  the  Vizcaya,  Captain  Philip  gave  the  word 
which  sent  the  Texas  ahead  in  chase  after  the  survivors 
of  what  had,  less  than  half  an  hour  previous,  been  a 
mighty  fleet. 

As  one  who  witnessed  the  battle  has  already  written 
concerning  this  particular  time  and  the  wonderfully  one- 
sided engagement,  his  words  had  best  be  quoted  : 

"  Huge  volumes  of  black  smoke,  edged  with  red  flame, 
rolled  from  every  port  and  shot-hole  of  the  Vizcaya,  as 
from  the  Teresa.  They  were  both  furnaces  of  glowing 
fire.  Though  they  had  come  from  the  harbour  to  certain 
battle,  not  a  wooden  bulkhead,  not  a  partition  in  the 
quarters  either  of  officers  or  men  had  been  taken  out,  nor 

103 


104  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

had  trunks  and  chests  been  sent  ashore.  Neither  had 
the  wooden  decks  or  any  other  wooden  fixtures  been 
prepared  to  resist  fire.  Apparently  the  crew  had  not 
even  wet  down  the  decks." 

It  was  the  experienee  of  a  full  lifetime,  to  witness  the 
destruction  of  these  four  fighting-machines,  and  yet  Teddy 
Dunlap  and  his  little  comrade  almost  forgot  what  they 
had  seen  in  the  excitement  of  the  race,  as  their  ship 
leaped  forward  in  that  mad  chase  which  was  to  end  only 
with  the  wrecking  of  all  those  vessels  that  had  sailed  out 
of  the  harbour  to  make  their  way  past  the  Yankee 
fleet. 

The  two  comrades  were  conscious  of  nothing  save  the 
throbbing  and  quivering  of  their  own  ship,  as,  under  press 
of  every  ounce  of  steam  that  could  be  raised,  the  Texas 
dashed  onward,  overhauling  first  this  Yankee  vessel  and 
then  that,  flinging  the  spray  in  showers  over  her  deck, 
and  rolling  from  side  to  side  in  the  heavy  swell  as  she 
tore  onward  at  a  rate  of  speed  that  probably  she  had 
never  before  equalled. 

It  was  a  race  to  the  death  ;  now  and  then  the  hatches 
were  opened  that  some  one  of  the  engineer's  crew,  ex- 
hausted by  almost  superhuman  efforts  and  the  excessive 
heat,  might  be  brought  up  from  those  fiery  depths  below, 
while  others  took  the  place  of  him  who  had  fallen  at  the 
post  of  duty,  and  the  speed  was  never  slackened. 

On,  on,  over  the  long  swell,  every  man  aboard  in  the 
highest  possible  state  of  excitement,  eager  that  the  Texas 
should  be  in  at  the  death,  and  ahead,  straining  every 


TEDDY'S  DADDY.  1 05 

nerve  as  it  were,  fled  the  Spaniards,  knowing  full  well 
that  there  could  be  but  one  ending  to  such  a  race. 

"  It's  Yankee  grit  an'  Yankee  skill  that's  winnin'  this 
fight ! "  Bill  Jones  cried,  excitedly,  forgetting  that  he 
was  only  a  "  plain,  every-day  sailor,  with  no  fightin' 
timber  about  him,"  and  at  every  onward  leap  of  the 
ship  his  body  swayed  forward  as  if  he  was  eager  for  a 
fray. 

But  neither  Bill  Jones  nor  any  man  aboard  the  Texas, 
save  those  brave  souls  in  the  very  bowels  of  the  gallant 
ship,  had  any  opportunity  to  display  personal  bravery. 

The  fight  ended  when  the  chase  did,  for  then  nothing 
was  left  of  those  mighty  Spanish  ships  save  blackened 
hulks. 

The  Oregon  was  sending  1 3-inch  projectiles  after  the 
Oquendo  at  every  fair  opportunity,  and  the  Texas,  more 
than  holding  her  own  with  the  other  vessels,  was  coming 
up  astern  with  a  speed  that  threatened  to  bring  the  long 
race  to  a  speedy  conclusion. 

Then,  suddenly,  although  all  had  been  expecting  it, 
the  Almirante  Oquendo 's  bow  was  headed  toward  the 
shore,  —  she  saw  the  uselessness  of  further  flight,  —  and 
all  the  pursuers,  save  the  Texas,  hauled  off  in  pursuit  of 
the  Cristobal  Colon. 

Standing  with  a  group  of  Texas  men,  Teddy  and 
Bill  Jones  saw  the  Spaniard  near  the  line  of  surf,  and 
as  their  vessel's  speed  was  checked  there  came  a  roar 
mightier  than  when  the  battle  was  first  opened ;  the 
doomed  ship  rocked  to  and  fro  as  if  she  had  struck 


106  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

a  sunken  reef,  there  was  an  uprending  of  the  iron 
decks,  and  then  came  a  shower  of  fragments  that  told 
of  the  tremendous  explosion  within  the  hull  of  the 
Oquendo. 

Now  it  was  the  Yankee  crew  burst  once  more  into 
shouts  of  triumph ;  but  before  the  first  cheer  arose  on  the 
morning  air  Captain  Philip  cried  : 

"  Don't  cheer ;  the  poor  devils  are  dying !  " 
Then  it  was  that  every  man  realised  what  had,  until 
this  moment,  been  absolutely  forgotten :  the  game  in 
which  they  were  such  decided  victors  was  one  of  death  ! 
While  they  were  triumphantly  happy,  scores  upon  scores 
of  the  enemy  were  dying,  —  mangled,  scalded,  drowning,  — 
and  on  the  instant,  like  a  flash  of  light,  came  the  terrible 
fact  that  while  they  rejoiced,  others  were  suffering  a  last 
agony. 

"  Don't  cheer ;  the  poor  devils  are  dying ! " 
At  that  instant  Teddy  Dunlap  understood  what  might 
be  the  horror  of  war,  and  forgetting  the  joy  and  exultation 
which  had  been  his  an  instant  previous,  the  lad  covered 
his  eyes  with  his  hand,  —  sick  at  heart  that  he  should  have 
taken  even  a  passive  part  in  that  game  which  could  be 
ended  only  by  suffering  and  death. 

Later,  after  the  men  were  sufficiently  calm  to  be  able 
to  discuss  intelligently  the  doings  of  that  day  when  the 
full  Spanish  fleet  was  destroyed  by  Yankee  vessels  who 
throughout  all  the  action  and  chase  sustained  no  injury 
whatsoever,  it  was  learned  that  more  than  six  hundred 
human  beings  had  been  sent  out  of  the  world  in  less  than 


TEDDY'S  DADDY.  IO/ 

four  hours,  and  nearly  eighteen  hundred  men  were  taken 
prisoners  by  the  American  vessels. 

Teddy  Dunlap  was  like  one  in  a  daze  from  the  instant 
he  realised  what  all  this  thrilling  excitement  meant,  until 
Bill  Jones,  who  had  been  ordered  -to  some  duty  below, 
came  to  his  side  in  the  greatest  excitement. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that,  lad?"  he  cried,  shaking 
the  boy  vigorously  as  he  pointed  seaward,  and  Teddy, 
looking  in  the  direction  indicated  by  his  outstretched 
finger,  but  without  seeing  anything,  asked,  hesitatingly  : 

"Is  it  the  Cristobal  Colon  ?  " 

"  Of  course  it  isn't,  my  lad  !  That  vessel  is  a  wreck  off 
Tarquino  Point,  so  we  heard  half  an  hour  ago.  Don't  you 
see  the  ship  here  almost  alongside  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  see  her,"  Teddy  replied,  with  a  sigh  of 
relief.  "There's  been  so  much  that  is  terrible  goin'  on 
around  us  that  it's  like  as  if  I  was  dazed." 

"  An'  that's  what  you  must  be,  lad,  not  to  see  that  here's 
the  Brooklyn  nearer  alongside  than  she's  like  to  come  again 
for  a  year  or  more." 

"  The  Brooklyn  !  "  Teddy  cried,  now  aroused  from  the 
stupefaction  of  horror  which  had  come  upon  him  with 
the  knowledge  of  all  the  suffering  caused  that  day.  "  The 
Brooklyn!" 

"Ay,  lad,  an'  her  launch  is  alongside  makin'  ready  to 
transfer  some  of  the  prisoners.  Now's  our  chance,  when 
such  as  we  don't  amount  to  a  straw  in  view  of  the  great 
things  that  have  been  done  this  day,  to  slip  over  on  a  little 
visit  to  your  daddy  !  " 


IO8  OFF  SANTIAGO   WITH  SAMPSON. 

Probably  at  no  other  time  could  such  a  thing  have  been 
done  by  two  members  of  the  crew ;  but  just  now,  when 
every  man  and  officer  was  overwhelmed  by  the  fever 
of  victory,  little  heed  was  given  to  the  movements  of  any 
particular  person. 

Therefore  it  was  that  Teddy  Dunlap  and  the  little 
sailor  had  no  difficulty  in  gaining  the  Brooklyn  s  deck 
without  question  or  check,  and  the  first  person  they  saw 
on  clambering  aboard  was  a  coal-passer,  stripped  to  the 
waist  and  grimy  with  dust  and  perspiration,  who  stared 
with  bulging  eyes  at  the  boy  who  followed  close  behind 
Bill  Jones. 

"Teddy!" 

"  Daddy  !  " 

"I  reckon  this  is  no  place  for  me,"  Bill  Jones  mut- 
tered as  he  made  his  way  forward,  and  if  the  "  plain, 
every-day  sailor  with  no  fightin'  timber  about  him" 
had  sufficient  delicacy  to  leave  father  and  son  alone  at 
such  a  time,  surely  we  should  show  ourselves  equally 
considerate. 

It  is  enough  to  say  that  Teddy's  troubles  were  at  an 
end  after  a  short  visit  with  his  father,  and  that  he  did  not 
leave  the  Texas  immediately. 

Captain  Philip  came  to  hear  the  boy's  story,  and  an 
opportunity  was  given  him  to  enlist  for  so  long  a  term  as 
his  father  was  bound  to  the  Brooklyn. 

Since  the  purpose  of  this  little  story  was  only  to  tell 
how  the  stowaway  found  his  father,  there  is  no  excuse 


TEDDY'S  DADDY.  IOQ 

for  continuing  an  account  of  Teddy's  experience  off  San- 
tiago with  Sampson  ;  but  at  some  future  time,  if  the 
reader  so  chooses,  all  that  befell  him  before  returning 
home  shall  be  set  down  with  careful  fidelity  to  every 
detail. 


THE    END. 


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*Mft     n.r 

20 

1940 

*£$.          MAR  %  1942 

'2^-JL         '             0/vu.no  '  A  -  /*  A 

J 

1  .  t  •                 oep^/y  &••  :  ' 

;*5      MAR    31973 

54 

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IW.  ^XI^ 

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LD  21-100m-7,'39(402s) 

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^i*siM«iii 


